NMC puts new regulations on MBBS admissions, Establishment of medical colleges on public domain, invites comments

The regulations will come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette and will be applicable to medical colleges being established from the 2021-22 academic session.

The confirmation to this effect comes from a recent announcement made by the NMC Secretary, Dr RK Vats wherein it has clearly stated that in accordance with section 57(1) and section 24(1) of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 the following regulations namely (i) "Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS admissions regulations, 2020" and (ii) "Amendment to the establishment of Medical College Regulations" framed by the National Medical Commission is being in placed in the public domain for comments.

The comments, if any, should be submitted to the Secretary, National Medical Commission by e-mail at secy-mci@nic.in on or before 5.00 PM on 19.10.2020.

The preamble to the draft regulations lays down the purpose of these norms required to come into force. It says, "There is a necessity to re-cast medical education and training to enable the medical graduate to be able to effectively discharge their role as a physician in this changing world. The new demands on medical education also necessitate redefining the standards. There is a need to define standards based on functional requirements, rather than in absolute terms. Quality should be the benchmark of the new standard. Optimisation and flexibility in utilising the available resources, and harnessing modern educational technology tools would facilitate in moving towards quality education even when resources are relatively scarce."

These draft regulations present the following proposed modifications in the MBBS admissions and establishment process of new medical institutes.

Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS admissions regulations, 2020

Some of the features include:

This draft spells out the in detail requirements of the infrastructure and faculty required for annual renewals of 100 MBBS seats as well as facilities mandated for 100 admissions, 250 admissions and 500 admissions into MBBS course annually.

These said infrastructural requirements include the medical college building, laboratories, tutorial rooms, library, hostels and bed distributions.

The draft further lays down the minimum infrastructural standards for such facilities in the northeastern region.

The annual admission regulation further stresses on the mandatory departments in the colleges and the faculties required for the purpose.

The phase-wise Requirements to be fulfilled by the applicant colleges for obtaining Letter of Intent and Letter of Permission for Establishment of New Medical College & Yearly Renewals for 100/150/200/250 M.B.B.S. admissions annually shall be in accordance with Annexure I, II, III, and IV of these Regulations

Amendment to the establishment of Medical College Regulations

Some of thekey features include:

The requirements for setting up medical colleges have been rationalized. Medical Colleges shall be established with an annual intake capacity of 100 /150 /200/250 MBBS Admissions Annually.

A qualifying criterion has been proposed by the NMC for establishing new medical colleges, includes having a teaching hospital attached and a residential area for the teachers and the students. However, in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, hilly areas and the northeastern states the medical college can also be in two plots of land -- one housing the teaching hospital and the other the medical college with hostels for students and interns.

The commission has also proposed granting permission to medical colleges established from 2021-22. This can be renewed on a yearly basis subject to achievements of annual targets.

The requirement for the number of beds in a medical college hospital has been proposed to be brought down from 530 to 430 for a 100-seat institute, and from 930 to 830 for a 200-seat college.

The regulations lay down the requirements for lecture theatres, libraries, laboratories, minimum bed requirements of the attached medical college, location of faculty offices and students' accommodation. It mentioned the minimum equipment that each laboratory must have, the minimum number of copies of a given book in the library, the medical journals that the college must subscribe to, and also one rural health and one urban health training centre attached to each college.

The new regulations also specify the rules for having visiting faculty that can be upto 30 percent of the required faculty strength. Besides this the regulations also specify that all medical colleges must have their own websites with some mandatory specified information to be displayed, a move that will lead to greater transparency in the system

Besides this, all medical colleges must also have skill labs. The purpose of the skills laboratory is to provide a safe and non-threatening environment for students to learn, practice and be observed performing skills in a simulated environment thus mitigating the risks involved in direct patient exposure without adequate preparation and supervision

The regulations can be accessed HERE