Upto Rs 1 crore penalty, Stoppage of admissions: NMC warns medical colleges of harsh penalties for forcing medicos to stay in hostel

New Delhi: Reiterating the fact that staying in hostels is not obligatory for postgraduate medical students, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has once again issued a warning to the medical colleges over forcing the PG medicos to stay in the designated hostels and charging hefty fees for the same.

The apex medical regulator stated that it has received numerous complaints from PG medical students alleging coercion by medical institutions to stay in designated hostels, accompanied by hefty charges. The Commission warned the medical colleges that failure to comply with the rules may result in punitive action including monetary penalty, reduction of seats, or suspension of admissions.

In its notice, referring to the recently released Post Graduate Medical Education Regulation (PGMER) 2023, the Apex Medical Commission highlighted that even though the regulations make it mandatory for colleges to provide suitable residential accommodation to PG medicos, it is not mandatory for the students to stay there.

In fact, the PGMER 2000 also did not make it mandatory for PG medicos to compulsorily stay in the college-provided hostels, NMC pointed out in its notice dated 19.02.2024.

This is not the first time that NMC has addressed the concerns of PG medicos regarding the mandatory hostel accommodation. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that issuing a public notice dated 8th February 2024, NMC issued a similar warning for medical colleges concerning hostel accommodation for the PG medicos.

Also Read: All PG medical students to work as full-time resident doctors for reasonable working hours: NMC PGMER 2023

The notice was issued by NMC after it received several complaints from students that hostels or medical institutes are compelling them to stay in the hostel and charging a hefty amount for the same.

Reiterating the warning, NMC Media/Publication Division issued another notification on Monday and mentioned, "In a recent public notice dated 8th February 2024, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has addressed concerns regarding hostel accommodation for post-graduate medical students. The notice highlights Regulation 5.6 of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulation (PGMER), 2023, which mandates colleges to provide suitable residential accommodation to post-graduate students. However, it emphasizes that it is not obligatory for the students to reside in these hostels."

"The notice underscores that previous regulations, such as the PGMER, 2000, did not mandate the compulsory stay of post-graduate medical students in college-provided hostels," it further mentioned.

The Commission highlighted that despite the clear directive, it received numerous complaints from PG students alleging coercion by medical colleges/institutions to stay in designated hostels, accompanied by hefty charges. Referring to this, the Commission mentioned, "Such actions are deemed violations of Regulation 5.6 of the PGMER, 2023."

Asking the colleges to strictly adhere to the regulations, NMC reminded that failure to comply with the same may result in punitive action, reduction of seats, or suspension of admissions.

"In response to these grievances, the NMC directs all medical colleges and institutes to adhere strictly. to the stipulations outlined in the aforementioned Regulation. Failure to comply may result in punitive actions, including monetary penalties, reduction of seats, or suspension of admissions, as outlined in Regulations 9.1 and 9.2 of the PGMER, 2023," the notice stated.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently released PGMER 2023 regulations stipulated that it would be mandatory for the college to provide appropriate residential accommodation to PG students. However, it would not be mandatory for the PG students to stay in the hostel.

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

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-press-release-232722.pdf

Also Read: NMC slams Medical Colleges for Compelling PG medicos to stay in hostel, warns of strict action