Amidst controversy over NMC inspection bribery scandal, demand for restructuring NMC escalates

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the corruption case involving inspection-related malpractice in the medical education sector in India, the institutions have urged the Prime Minister of India (PMO) to ensure the strengthening of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for autonomous, transparent, and accountable medical education reform.

The Association of National Board Accredited Institutions (ANBAI) has urged PM Modi to restructure the Apex Medical Commission, use technology-based assessment methods, and align educational priorities with public health needs.

This representation comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) busted a systemic corruption racket in the medical education sector and booked 34 individuals, including officials from the Union Health Ministry and the National Medical Commission (NMC), for their alleged involvement in manipulating the regulatory framework for private medical colleges. Among those named in the FIR are eight officials from the Union Health Ministry, a National Health Authority officer, and five doctors from the NMC’s inspection team. Prominent private medical college figures have also been implicated.

Also Read: CBI exposes NMC inspection Racket: How a Pan India syndicate was engineering the Biggest Medical Education Scam

Writing to the Prime Minister recently, ANBAI, which represents hospitals and teaching institutions across India that are accredited to the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for postgraduate medical education, expressed its concern and constructive suggestions regarding the functioning of NMC.

In the letter directed to the Prime Minister, the association mentioned, "While the NMC was established with great promise to modernise India’s medical education system, there is growing consensus that the Commission has yet to fulfil its transformative mandate. Recent developments— particularly the widely reported corruption case involving inspection-related malpractice—have reinforced longstanding concerns about structural weaknesses, regulatory opacity, and limited stakeholder engagement."

The association has proposed a restructuring of the Apex Medical Commission by introducing a participatory model. "The current structure of the NMC could be revisited to include balanced representation from diverse stakeholder groups—such as teaching institutions (public and private), health services, professional associations, and students. This participatory model, akin to the composition of the NBEMS Board, could enhance credibility, responsiveness, and sector-wide alignment with national health goals," ANBAI mentioned in the letter.

Further, the association has requested to use the National Exit Test (NExT) as an Outcome-Based Assessment Tool to review the improvement status of medical colleges. ANBAI opined that the NExT examination presents a valuable opportunity to introduce performance-linked regulation. 

"Beyond serving as a licensing exam, it can be used to assess and compare institutional quality across the country. Institutions showing consistently poor results should be reviewed for improvement plans, and those demonstrating excellence should be recognised and supported," the letter read.

ANBAI has advocated for a transition from Physical Inspections to Techonology-Enabled Oversight. It pointed out that the recent CBI investigation has exposed the vulnerabilities of the current inspection system, including manipulation of assessors, biometric fraud, and fabricated data. According to ANBAI, these issues point to the need for a paradigm shift from manual inspections to technology-driven, continuous monitoring systems. 

Real-time dashboards, remote audit tools, and digital faculty and patient records can reduce discretion and corruption while improving oversight quality, it opined.

"The NMC must ensure that medical education keeps pace with the health priorities of our nation— such as rural service delivery, geriatric and palliative care, mental health, and non-communicable diseases. Curriculum innovation, faculty development, and accreditation mechanisms should be updated to meet these evolving requirements," it added in the letter.

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr. Alexander Thomas, a patron of ANBAI, said, "The Government has to give more autonomy to NMC and has to choose the right people for NMC."

Calling the recently unveiled corruption case "unfortunate", he added, "I think NMC was started with the intention of improving medical education." However, he pointed out how corruption got integrated into the system and opined that the Prime Minister should be aware of the situation.

"The main issue with NMC and the erstwhile NMC is the inspector Raj. People go for inspection, and then there is a lot of corruption," he said, adding that "Based on the NExT exam, they will have an idea about how the training is in each of the institutes, based on the performance of the students. Based on that, the good institutions should be appreciated and the ones that are not too good need to be told to improve, and the inspection should be kept to a minimum. And now with the technology, everything can be monitored."

Also Read: CBI Busts NMC inspection Fraud: 34 booked including Health Ministry, NMC officials