Thirteen new medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh were recently denied permission by the National Medical Commission (NMC) to start offering MBBS courses. The NMC cited serious deficiencies in faculty strength and infrastructure that were discovered during inspections. The state’s intention to increase the number of MBBS seats from 10,000 to 1,300 has been foiled by this decision, which is a significant setback considering the rising need in the area for medical professionals and education.
A drive to increase the availability of medical education led to the establishment of these new government medical colleges, which are situated in the districts of Sultanpur, Kushinagar, Kaushambi, Kanpur Dehat, Lalitpur, Pilibhit, Auraiya, Sonbhadra, Bulandshahr, Gonda, Bijnor, Chandauli, and Lakhimpur Kheri. Nevertheless, serious flaws were found throughout the inspections. To make matters worse, in certain cases, a single principal was found to be in charge of two colleges.
The senior secretary for medical education in Uttar Pradesh, Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma, acknowledged the setbacks and noted that the state authorities intend to pursue an appeal under pertinent act provisions. The Uttar Pradesh director-general of medical education, Kinjal Singh, added that they are trying to make things right and plan to file an appeal with the NMC in a matter of 15 days.The state’s medical education agency may take the case to the Union Health Ministry and request an obligatory letter of authorization if the appeal to the NMC is unsuccessful. This extra option demonstrates the state’s dedication to resolving the faculty- and infrastructure-related concerns and obtaining approval for the new colleges.
Stakeholders are concerned about the refusal because these colleges were anticipated to greatly increase the number of MBBS seats available in Uttar Pradesh. In addition to improving medical education, the 1,300 extra seats might have eventually led to better healthcare services in the area.
In spite of the disappointment, there is still hope. Permission to accept 150 students each to three colleges suggested under the private-public partnership (PPP) model demonstrates a means to increase the capacity for medical education through alternative approaches. Short-term respite was also afforded by the clearance of an increase of 50 and 100 MBBS seats, respectively, in two other state government colleges.All things considered, even though the NMC’s ruling has temporarily impeded the growth of medical education in Uttar Pradesh, the state government is aggressively seeking appeals and other options to rectify the found shortcomings. The results of these initiatives will play a significant role in shaping the state’s medical education system going forward.
SOURCE:
HINDUSTAN TIMES
