CPS PG Diplomas should be promoted to meet specialist shortfall: National Education Policy

New Delhi: The controversial PG diploma courses offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS Mumbai) recently found the endorsement of the recently released National Education Policy 2019 which called for the promotion of these courses across the country as a solution to the shortfall in PG Medical Education

The policy called that Diploma courses such as the one being offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mumbai, to be promoted throughout the country, to help produce sufficient numbers of intermediate specialists.

The National Education Policy which gave recommendations on various aspects of the Indian education system talked specifically about the urgent need for expanding postgraduate medical education

 There is a shortfall in the number of seats in postgraduate courses in many disciplines, particularly in medical education where the number of seats in postgraduate education is only approximately half the number of MBBS seats. These will be increased as quickly as the available infrastructure in hospitals around the country allows. New medical colleges and hospitals that have an adequate number of patients and welltrained teaching faculty will be allowed to start postgraduate courses and district hospitals will move towards having a medical college attached to them.

The recommendation moved on to recommend the CPS and CPS Like courses

Diploma courses such as the one being offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Mumbai, should be promoted throughout the country, to help produce sufficient numbers of intermediate specialists.

CPS Diploma courses have been surrounded with many controversies for the past many years, ranging from their recognition with the MCI to the fake degree scam whereby  so-called "specialists" with fake mark sheets of the CPS courses applied for degree recognition with the council

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that through a gazetted notification,  dated 17th October, 2017, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare gave recognition to various CPS diploma courses by including them in the 1st schedule of the MCI act.

Read Also: PG diplomas offered by CPS, Mumbai recognized by Medical Council of India

Soon in February 2018, the Ministry did a u-turn through another gazette notification by de-recognising majority of the CPS diploma courses

Read Also: U-Turn: Ministry of Health De-Recognizes PG diplomas offered by CPS, Mumbai

The matter soon reached the doors of the Bombay HC which was seen taking a stern view and also pulled up the central and the state government for allowing such courses to flourish despite opposition from the MCI adding that If a CPS diploma holder cannot teach any student nor can be termed as an expert in any branch of medicine or surgery, then, there is no warrant in allowing him to retain this degree in his bio-data or nameplate.

Read Also: CPS PG Diploma not Specialist Degree: HC slams govt, asks MCI to take corrective steps