Breather for Telangana Medical Colleges as NMC confirms no plans to cut Medical Seats

Hyderabad: During a meeting with Telangana Health Department officials recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) assured the State Government that it has no plans to reduce the number of medical seats in the State.

However, the Apex Medical Commission issued directions to State Health officials to ensure all necessary facilities were provided at the government medical colleges across Telangana, TNIE has reported.

This comes as a major relief after NMC issued 26 government medical colleges across Telangana show-cause notices citing inadequate infrastructure. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that NMC, while issuing the show-cause, had highlighted deficiencies in infrastructure, clinical materials, and teaching personnel.

There are altogether 34 government medical colleges in Telangana. Out of these, 26 medical colleges have received an NMC Show Cause. The only exceptions are Gandhi Medical College, Osmania Medical College, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Adilabad, Government Medical College Nizamabad, Government Medical College Maheshwaram, Government Medical College Yadadri, and Government Medical College Vikarabad.

Following this, the Director of Medical Education (DME), Dr A Narendra Kumar, along with Telangana Health Secretary Christina Z. Chongthu, appeared before the NMC in New Delhi on Wednesday. They were summoned by NMC over the show-cause notices served on 26 GMCs in Telangana.

Also Read: Prepare Action Plan to Provide all Amenities at GMCs: Telangana CM Orders after NMC Show Cause

Telangana's Explanation: 

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, in the meeting with the NMC officials, the Telangana Health Department officials briefed the Commission about the challenges faced by the State after the simultaneous establishment of a large number of government medical colleges. Both the Health Secretary and the DME explained to the Commission that the sudden expansion led to initial shortages in faculty and delays in developing basic facilities.

Further, they also assured the Commission that the Telangana Government was committed to strengthening medical education infrastructure in the State. In this regard, the DME informed NMC that the TG has already allocated the necessary funds for the projects and issued permissions to recruit teaching faculty.

Response from NMC: 

The Times of India has reported that NMC, during the meeting, asked the Telangana Government to appoint faculty at medical colleges across the State at the earliest and also instructed to improve facilities.

While urging the State to expedite the faculty appointments and upgrade the infrastructural facilities, the Apex Medical Commission also reportedly assured the State official that no seats would be cut and there would be no issues with the colleges getting approvals, provided that improvements are made promptly, TNIE has reported. 

Meeting Concluded with Positive Note: Telangana DME

Sources informed TNIE that NMC was satisfied with the explanations provided regarding the shortage of teaching faculty and the challenges regarding the infrastructure at the medical colleges. 

DME Dr. Kumar assured the Commission that the State was actively working to strengthen the infrastructure with the construction of college and hospital buildings and was duly allocating funds for it. He also assured that the necessary approvals for faculty recruitment have been issued.

While commenting on the meeting with NMC, DME Dr. Kumar told The Hindu, "The meeting with National Medical Commission (NMC) officials concluded on a positive note with the NMC expressing satisfaction over the information provided to them regarding faculty strength and infrastructure in government medical colleges in Telangana."

Further, calling the NMC inspections and subsequent issuance of notices before the commencement of the academic year entirely natural, Dr. Kumar also expressed confidence that all colleges would ultimately get the necessary permissions from NMC.

As per the latest media report by The Hans India, Dr. Kumar explained that before the commencement of each academic year, NMC inspects the medical colleges and issues notices to them as a routine procedure. He also mentioned that such notices have been received for the past four years and this year, colleges in States including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka received them.

He also added that it was incorrect to create misconceptions and spread false propaganda suggesting that NMC had issued notices to only colleges in Telangana or that this was an unprecedented occurrence. 

While the DME acknowledged that setting up a large number of medical colleges simultaneously had led to a shortage of faculty and difficulties in providing basic facilities, he also affirmed that the Government has already taken decisive steps to overcome all these challenges. Accordingly, the necessary budget has been allocated, and Government Orders (GOs) have been issued.

Also Read: Waking up to NMC show cause, Telangana Medical Colleges to Recruit 1651 Faculty