Medical Council of India needs to review Rules on Faculty Appointments: Parliamentary Panel

New Delhi: The recent report of the Estimates Committee on the Subject ‘Medical Education and Health Care in the Country' have laid a strong emphasis on addressing the shortage of the specialists as well as medical teachers in addressing the health needs of the country. Among the number of recommendations given by the committee to the parliament, the emphasis was laid by the committee in asking the MCI to come out with out-of-the-box solutions to address the growing issue of faculty shortage in the field of medical education.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in the month of December 2017, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, M.P. and Chairperson, Committee on Estimates (2017-18) presented to Lok Sabha the Twenty-third Report of the Committee on Estimates (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) on the Subject ‘Medical Education and Health Care in the Country' pertaining to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Department of Health and Family Welfare

Emphasizing the need to increase the number of PG seats in various medical colleges, the committee pointed out the need to address the shortage of faculty in various medical colleges of the country. The committee was found directing the MCI to revise the rules and regulations pertaining to appointment of faculty and come out with out-of-the-box solutions

.... the Committee have emphasized that MCI need to review its rules and regulations pertaining to appointment of faculty and come out with out of box solutions in line with international practices to tide over the shortage of faculty.....

One Such Solution was put forward by the committee itself recommending the engagement of renowned doctors in the field of medical education

While observing that shortage of faculty in medical colleges has adversely affected their quality of teaching, the Committee have recommended that renowned medical specialists with academic background in cities can be given the status of visiting faculty to teach UG/PG students as students generally love to have famous doctors of city teaching them the art of medical practice and it will also increase the pool of medical faculty.

Read ALso: MCI Clarification on Teachers Eligibility Rules; Check out the details

The Estimates Committee also emphasised on the need for technology in medical education

While taking note of the revision of teacher:student ratio, the Committee have emphasized that the quality of medical education is not compromised. Besides, the Committee have recommended to take the benefit of e-teaching devices for medical education in various medical colleges and universities.

The committee also gave important recommendations on the need for incentivising medical students to encourage them to engage in medical research

While noting that the overall research output from the Indian Medical Institutions is very poor and there is a lack of big collaborations or programmes between Institutions where eminent professors and standard equipments are available for research work in the field of medical science and medical instrumentation, the Committee have recommended to take urgent initiatives to encourage and incentivize the medical students so that they concentrate more on research activities in the field of medicine.

Read other recommendations of the committee:

AYUSH Practitioners should not be called Doctors, but Vaidya, Vaidyaraj, Hakim etc: Parliamentary Committee