Fact Check: NMC Letter Recognising CPS Courses for Doctors Undergoing Training is FAKE

New Delhi: The letter bearing the signature of the Under Secretary of NMC PG Board and claiming that CPS degrees are recognised for the students undergoing training is FAKE, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has recently clarified.

Issuing a notice on December 14, 2023, the Apex Medical Commission has warned the doctors against the fake letter. With this, the Commission has once again its stand regarding the recognition of the controversial College and Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) courses.

Along with the notice, NMC has also enclosed a copy of the fake letter dated 29.05.2023, allegedly issued by the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC.

The Claim:

The fake letter claims to be signed by the undersecretary of PGMEB and addressed to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The letter mentioned, "It is Informed that currently, there are 1386 enrolled students in the cps course who are in training period, Selected through NEET PG-2021, in relation to this matter a Special committee meeting for CPS course and PGMEB was held on 26/5/2023."

Further, the letter also mentioned that the PGMEB is very concerned about the future of these students and therefore some solutions have been decided by the Commission.

One of the solutions allegedly was that "Final Examination for these students should be conducted by cps according to their own Pattern till December this Year Under Strict supervision of NBEMS."

CPS courses have been facing major controversies for a long time. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that referring to significant gaps in the standards or institutes offering CPS courses, the medical education department of Maharashtra previously wrote to the Union Health Ministry asking for its opinion on whether counselling can be conducted for around 1,100 CPS seats.

Writing to the Centre, the department referred to the inspection of the Maharashtra Medical Council conducted last year and how during the inspection, MMC had found "severe deficiencies" in several institutes. In fact, the Central Government has also set up an eight-member committee to look into the matter.

The controversy continued further and recently the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) recommended to the Union Health Ministry to withdraw the popular DPB- Diploma in Pathology and Bacteriology, DCH - Diploma in Child Health and DGO- Diploma Gynecology and Obstetrics courses run by CPS from the next academic year.

After NMC, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) also offered rejection to the CPS courses by refusing to bring them under the aegis of the NBE. At this outset, States including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka were reportedly considering to the intake for the CPS courses or discontinuing them.

Earlier this year, the Maharashtra Government de-recognised the courses offered by CPS and asked the medical institutes and hospitals not to admit students for any of the 26 diplomas or fellowships offered by CPS, Mumbai. However, the State had clarified that the candidates who had already been admitted to these PG courses before the notification would not be affected by this.

To view the NMC notice, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-cps-recognition-228372.pdf

Also Read: CPS Courses to Restart? Maharashtra Medical Education Dept Rethinking its Decision of Derecognition