Following NMC Nod for Dumka, Jharkhand Hopeful for Hazaribag, Palamu Medical Colleges

In fact, the Health Department officials have informed TOI that they have started fulfilling the academic along with infrastructural requirements for getting approval from NMC, the apex medical education regulatory body.

This comes after recently the NMC denied recognition to medical colleges in Dumka, Palamu and Hazaribag. Although the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), operative under the NMC has granted affiliation to the Phulo Jhano Medical College in Dumka, the recognition for the rest of the two colleges is still pending.

Also Read: Jharkhand announces faculty recruitment for 5 Medical Colleges to fulfil NMC criteria

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that NMC recently put the MBBS admission in 3 medical colleges in Jharkhand citing lack of necessary facilities at the establishments.

Stalling the MBBS admission at Palamu, Dumka and Hazaribagh medical colleges in Jharkhand, NMC highlighted the deficit of faculty members, absence of libraries, and laboratory equipments.

Even last year also, these three medical colleges were barred by NMC for admitting students in the MBBS course and back then the Chief Minister Hemant Soren had written to NMC and requested the apex medical body to reconsider its decision. In fact, he had also requested NMC chairman Dr Suresh Chandra Sharma to allow admissions for the 2020-21 session and assured him that the state government is committed to fulfilling all academic and infrastructural requirements as per the NMC norms by November 30th , 2020. However, the commission hadn't budged and didn't allow fresh admission in the last session.

However, the Phulo Jhano Medical College in Dumka got permission to admit 100 students from this academic year and following this, the State Government, in a recent notification announced about the upcoming recruitment of at least 86 professors and 83 assistant professors in five medical colleges, three of which recently were denied recognition from NMC.

These appointments are being made on a contractual basis and with an aim to ramp up the infrastructure at the medical colleges in the State to earn recognition from the NMC.

The Health Department officials have confirmed their attempt of fulfilling the academic and infrastructural requirements set by NMC and while commenting on the matter additional chief secretary (health) Arun Kumar Singh told the Times of India, "We are happy with NMC's approval to allow admission to 100 medical seats at the Phulo Jhano Medical College in Dumka. We are hopeful that we will get the nod for admission at our two new medical colleges at Palamu and Hazaribag."

Further Speaking to the daily regarding the shortcomings for which NMC had barred the medical colleges from admitting students, the additional secretary of the state health department, Alok Trivedi, said, "All infrastructural shortcomings which were highlighted by the NMC assessment team have been almost fulfilled. Currently, 98% of the total infrastructural work at the Hazaribag college and 96% at the Palamu college have been completed. We only have to fulfill the academic shortcomings and we are already working to sort that out on a war footing."