Karnataka Govt to File Objections Against NMC Rule of 100 MBBS Seats Per 10 lakh Population Ratio
Bengaluru: Opposing the National Medical Commission's rule of 100 MBBS seats per 10 lakh population ratio in a State, the Karnataka Government has decided to file its objections in this regard.
Confirmation regarding this has come from the Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, who said that they will not follow these guidelines and file objections.
"We are committed to our ‘One district, one medical college’ policy and we will start new government medical colleges in every district soon," he said.
While attending the Medicon-2023, the 89th annual conference of Indian Medical Association (IMA), held at the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BRIMS) in Bidar Minister Patil further mentioned that the State will write to the Central Government.
"It was South India that had given engineers and doctors to the entire India. The southern states are working to build a strong nation. The new NMC guidelines are opposed to South Indian States. The Karnataka government would write a letter to the Union government opposing the irrationality behind the NMC guidelines," the Minister told The Hindu.
Releasing the "Guidelines for Under Graduate Courses under Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses & Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023", the Apex Medical Commission prescribed a ratio of 100 MBBS seats per million population.
These Guidelines mentioned, "After A.Y. 2023-24, Letter of permission (LOP) for starting of new medical colleges shall be issued only for annual intake capacity of 50/100/150 seats; Provided that medical college shall follow the ratio of 100 MBBS seats for 10 lakh population in that state/ U.T."
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that as a result of this new rule, several southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana became ineligible to apply for any new medical college or any more seats.
All the Southern States including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh opposed these new NMC rules for setting up new medical colleges. Kerala, on the other hand, decided to seek relaxation on the basis of specific requirements. Recently, writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin also expressed his strong opposition against the NMC mandate.
Commenting on the matter, Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil told The Hindu, "This order will adversely impact healthcare in South India, including Karnataka. This is an arbitrary decision taken by the Union government without consulting any stakeholders. Therefore, we are not going to abide by these guidelines and we will file our objections soon. We are committed to our ‘One district, one medical college’ policy and we will start new government medical colleges in every district soon."
While attending the Medicon-2023, the 89th annual conference of Indian Medical Association (IMA), held at the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BRIMS) in Bidar, he said, "The Union Government’s step-motherly treatment of South Indian states is not acceptable. BJP, which is in power at the Centre, is unduly favouring the states where BJP is in power. Karnataka is reeling under severe drought and the BJP-led Union government has not released drought compensation despite repeated requests. It has not responded to our demand to sanction an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to Raichur."
Also Read: Karnataka Opposes NMC Rule of 100 MBBS Seats for 10 Lakh Population Ratio
He further referred to the "irrationality" of the Union Government in handling things in the field of medical sciences and added that the State Government would not allow the Union Government to open Jan Aushadhi Kendras, the generic drug centres, on the premises of government hospitals.
"The State government is already providing generic medicines in all government hospitals and there is no meaning in opening additional generic medicine shops there. It can open them in private places. If the Union government really wants to reduce the medicine expenses of common people, it should take measures to ensure that the prices of generic medicines are not hiked," he said.
Amid the opposition from the States, the National Medical Commission (NMC) issued a Press Release earlier and stood by its earlier decision in this regard.
Explaining the role of the Commission and especially the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) of the Commission, the release mentioned, "UGMEB at the National Medical Commission is committed to providing a medical education system that improves access to quality and affordable medical education, ensures availability of adequate and high-quality medical professionals in all parts of the country; that promotes equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens."
The Commission pointed out how various courts had made observations on crowding of medical colleges and added, "As for example, recently, in W.P. No. 17263 of 2020 in case of K.R. Vasudevaa vs. State of T.N. and others, dtd 30.07.2021, Madurai bench of Madras High court has cautioned NMC against crowding of medical colleges."
"Taking these aspects into consideration, and with an objective of providing the right teaching environment to the medical student and improving the overall quality of education, the provision of limiting UG seats in each State to 100 per million population has been included in the recently notified MSR guidelines 2023," the release further added.
NMC expressed its expectation that this decision will help add another 40,000 MBBS seats in India and added in the release, "It is expected that this will reduce regional disparities in availability of healthcare professionals and will go a long way in ensuring effective quality of education. With this ratio there will be still potential for addition of about 40,000 MBBS seats in country if the medical colleges are evenly distributed."
"This decision of NMC has been applauded by various state branches of IMA, students’ associations, and medical fraternity in general. NMC shall continue its endeavour to improve quality of medical training in the country," the Commission further mentioned.
Also Read: 100 MBBS Seats for 10 Lakh Population Ratio: NMC Stands by its Decision, issues statement
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