Transforming NMC: Healthcare providers approach PMO
Despite its founding promise of transparent and outcome-oriented reform in medical education and healthcare delivery, NMC has largely failed to deliver sustained systemic change, the AHPI wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 10 July.
AHPI represents hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and medical equipment companies. Its appeal comes against the backdrop of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently finding alleged instances of corruption involving health ministry officials, intermediaries, NMC assessors, and medical college representatives.
According to AHPI, the revelations underscore the persistent influence of 'Inspector Raj' methods and necessitate urgent reform. The prevailing public perception, particularly among healthcare professionals, is that the NMC offers little difference from the erstwhile Medical Council of India which it replaced, it said.
In the letter, Dr. Girdhar Gyani, director general, AHPI proposed transforming NMC from being primarily a procedural regulator into a forward-looking, autonomous institution focused on innovation, performance assessment, and continuous improvement in medical education. He suggested implementing NEXT as a nationwide screening mechanism.
'The National Exit Test (NEXT), if executed effectively, is envisioned as a transparent and objective benchmark to evaluate disciplinary outcomes and institutional performance. Colleges that consistently underperform on NEXT should be subjected to targeted remedial action,' Gyani wrote.
Dr. Alexandar Thomas, patron, AHPI called for the adoption of digital tools, remote monitoring, and real-time data dashboards to reduce human discretion, prevent collusion, and detect malpractices early.
The NMC should guide curriculum design, faculty training, and accreditation accordingly, it said.
The AHPI said that with decisive leadership, building upon the administrative track record and policy direction provided in the Health Policy of 2017, the NMC can be transformed into a high-impact institution championing transparency, rigour, and integrity in medical education, especially given the drive to open more medical colleges.
The association has offered to present detailed recommendations and to support the Prime Minister's office and the Ministry of Health in implementing these meaningful reforms.
Earlier, Mint reported that NMC has an acute manpower shortage, with only two members working against the requirements of 18 more members to look after the functioning of medical colleges and make reforms in medical education.
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