Latest news with #MedicalInstitutionsRegulations
Hindustan Times
06-07-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
NMC relaxes medical faculty rules
New Delhi, Non-teaching specialists or consultants with 10 years of experience at government hospitals can now be appointed as associate professors, while those with two years can serve as assistant professors without the mandatory senior residency, in a move to widen the pool of eligible faculty. NMC relaxes medical faculty rules The new regulations by the National Medical Council also stipulate that non-teaching government hospitals with over 220 beds can now be designated as teaching institutions, The previous 2022 regulations allowed non-teaching doctors to become assistant professors after two years in 330-bed non-teaching hospitals that were being converted into medical colleges. "A non-teaching consultant or specialist or medical officer, possessing PG medical degree with at least two years of experience in a government hospital having at least 220 beds shall be eligible to become an assistant professor of that broad specialty without the requirement of experience as senior resident and shall complete the basic course in biomedical research within two years of appointment," the Medical Institutions Regulations, 2025 notified recently said. These regulations, brought in by the Post Graduate Medical Education Board under NMC, aim to widen the pool of eligible faculty and facilitate the expansion of undergraduate and postgraduate seats in medical colleges across India, the Commission said. India's healthcare system is undergoing significant transformation with the Centre announcing a vision to add 75,000 new medical seats over the next five years. "However, a critical bottleneck has been the availability of qualified faculty required to initiate or expand medical programs. These new regulations are a major step towards unlocking the existing human resource potential within government health systems and optimising medical education infrastructure," it said. According to the regulations, PG courses can now be started with two faculty members and two seats, relaxing the earlier requirement of three faculty and a senior resident. Bed requirements per unit have also been rationalised for several specialties. Besides, senior consultants with three years of teaching experience in NBEMS-recognised government medical institutions are eligible for the post of professor. Diploma holders working as specialist or medical officer in the respective departments of a government medical institution or a government medical institution running National Board of Examination and Medical Science recognized teaching programme having cumulative experience of six years, shall be eligible for the post of assistant professor. The new regulations stated that a cumulative period of up to five years served by a faculty member in the NMC or a University or State Medical Council or medical education department or medical research related government organisation, shall be deemed as teaching experience. New government medical colleges are now permitted to start UG and PG courses simultaneously, expediting the production of healthcare professionals and teaching faculty, the regulations said. The upper age limit for appointment as senior resident has been increased to 50 years in pre-clinical and para-clinical subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology, Forensic Medicine. Experience gained as tutors or demonstrators by candidates with postgraduate qualifications shall be considered valid for the purpose of eligibility as assistant professor, the new regulations stated. "These forward-looking regulations mark a paradigm shift in how faculty eligibility is determined, shifting the focus from rigid service norms to competency, teaching experience, and academic merit. By unlocking the untapped potential within the existing government healthcare workforce, this reform will accelerate the expansion of medical education, particularly in underserved areas," the regulations stated. The Medical Institutions Regulations, 2025 will directly support the national goal of expanding access to quality medical education, strengthening institutional capacity, and producing a robust pipeline of healthcare professionals to serve India's growing needs. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Mint
23-04-2025
- Health
- Mint
NMC plans to fill vacant faculty posts in medical colleges with retired army and railways doctors
New Delhi: Amid a shortage of medical faculty in medical colleges, the National Medical Commission (NMC) plans to fill the vacant positions with retired doctors from the army and railways. This move by India's apex medical education regulator comes in the backdrop of Economic Survey highlighting faculty shortages, which are affecting the quality of medical training. The plan aims to fill at least 700 such positions across government institutions. As per the plan, appointment of these teaching faculty is being planned for post-graduate courses to teach specialized curriculum by the retired doctors from the armed forces, railways, and the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). Also read | Private universities headed to IITs to hire faculty As part of the plan, the NMC has floated a draft Teachers Eligibility Qualifications (TEQ) in the Medical Institutions Regulations, 2024, for consideration by stakeholders. 'TEQ will benefit at least 600-700 seats across government institutions. This will improve patient care and recruit meritorious faculty. However, the TEQ proposal is with the health ministry for further deliberations and is delayed," an official said adding that the delay is also affecting the potential increase of PG seats in the country. 'Specialist medical officer of the Armed Forces having minimum 8 years teaching experience after obtaining the requisite recognized Postgraduate qualification in the subject, of which at last three years as Associate Professor in a teaching hospital of the Armed Forces, with two Research publications under the relevant provisions can be considered eligible for appointment as Professor in the concerned subject," said the official. Also read | Govt cracks down on pharmacists gaming the system; regulator told to check faculty, student attendance at college Similar, provisions are being made in the case of retired doctors from railways and ESIC, the official added. On 1 April, there were 74,306 postgraduate seats and 118,190 MBBS seats in the country as per NMC. This indicates a significant shortage of specialists in cardiology, neurology, oncology and surgery. Till July last year, NMC has documented around 1.38 million medical practitioners with an MBBS degree, which translates to one MBBS degree holder per 1,263 people. 'Until the TEQ is not passed by the government, faculty recruitment cannot happen and it is delaying the process," a second official said. The official said that the recruitment of faculty members is a mammoth process as government has to provide designations like professor, assistant professor and associate professor. 'Without the designations, these faculty cannot work in the medical colleges." Also read | How to game the system: Pharmacy colleges found faking principal, faculty This year's union budget highlighted the expansion of medical education as it announced 10,000 additional seats to be added in medical colleges and hospitals, taking the total number of seats to 75,000 in the next 5 years. The plan is to increase the number of PG seats in the country. Queries sent to the health ministry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time.
