The availability of medical education seats in India is likely to increase substantially this academic year, with the National Medical Commission (NMC) expecting a cumulative rise of nearly 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate seats across the country. According to NMC chairperson Dr Abhijat Sheth, the Assessment and Rating Board had already launched inspections of institutions that have applied for additional capacity, and the process remained on schedule despite a recent corruption probe.
Counselling for NEET-UG has already commenced, with the first round concluded and the second round expected to begin on August 25. Concerns had been raised that this year's total number of seats might decline, after the Central Bureau of Investigation unearthed a network allegedly comprising officials of the Union Health Ministry, members of the NMC, intermediaries and representatives of private institutions involved in unlawful manipulation of the regulatory framework for medical colleges.
The NMC subsequently suspended all proposals for the creation of new courses and expansion of seats while the agency conducted its investigations. The FIR registered in July named 34 individuals, including eight officials of the Union health ministry, a National Health Authority officer and five doctors who served on NMC inspection teams.
“Along with my appointment, the president of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) also has been appointed. We have taken up completion of inspection of UG medical seats on a priority basis and the assessments are under progress,” Dr Sheth said. “We expect an increase of roughly around 8,000 seats (UG and PG seats combined) based on the number of applications we have received in this academic year,” he added.
At present, the country has 1,18,098 undergraduate seats, evenly split between government (59,782) and private (58,316) institutions. There are 53,960 postgraduate seats, of which 30,029 are in public colleges and 23,931 in private colleges.
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Although Dr Sheth acknowledged that certain UG seats may have been curtailed in the wake of the CBI inquiry, he emphasised that the overall availability was on track to increase after inspections conclude. “Because of the ongoing (CBI) inquiry, the numbers of UG seats may have reduced. However, overall, the number of seats is eventually going to increase by 8,000 or even more after the completion of the total inspection process,” he said.
The NMC has also commenced inspections of institutions that applied for new postgraduate seats and is confident that these will be incorporated in the September counselling round. “We are confident that new seats will also be added to the PG counselling process,” Dr Sheth said.
Turning to the National Exit Test (NExT) for final year MBBS students, Dr Sheth said the NMC backed the proposal in principle but highlighted the importance of consensus-building before implementation. “NExT is a novel concept no doubt but there are many unanswered questions. We have to ensure that this model is compatible with the medical education that we are providing to our students,” he said.
He added that the ministry had been working on the matter for the last two years and that students’ concerns had to be fully addressed. “Fear among students has to be allayed and their confidence level for this exam has to be created. Awareness has to be made that this examination is not going to be difficult for them but it is going to be a fair assessment for them,” he stated.
Dr Sheth also addressed worries about the quality of medical graduates amid the sharp rise in medical colleges since 2014, stressing that quantity and quality must move in tandem. “At the same time while increasing the number of colleges, we will have to ensure the quality of medical education doesn't get diluted,” he said.
The NMC, he said, was strengthening its accreditation system to ensure faculty, infrastructure and clinical material standards were maintained. “Also, we have initiated a process of phydigital model where we are encouraging our institution to adopt a new solution beyond physical education that includes skill and virtual education to address competency based training and digital and e-learning solutions to bring uniformity in medical training across the board,” Dr Sheth noted.
He added that integration with private and public hospital networks was being pursued to widen access to clinical material. “We want to tap this opportunity ... to ensure that we can get better clinical resources for the aspiring medical students,” he said, adding that the NMC intended to remain firm in implementing the planned reforms.
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