Less than 50 per cent Faculty, Infrastructure Gaps: NMC Issues show-cause notices to Pune GMCs

Pune: Almost all the government medical colleges in Pune have been issued show-cause notices by the National Medical Commission (NMC) over vacancies of professors, staff, and insufficient infrastructure. 

Issuing the show-cause notices, the Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body, NMC, has asked the colleges to submit a reply within seven days from receiving the notices. 

If the government medical colleges fail to submit the reply within the deadline, they may have to pay penalties of Rs 1 crore per deficiency, Pune Mirror has reported. However, the Commission may also cancel the permission granted to the GMCs if they do not pay the penalty amount. Meanwhile, experts have opined that it was a routine exercise by the Commission.

Also Read: Faculty Crunch, Irregular Attendance: NMC Issues Show-Cause Notices to WB Medical Colleges

NMC issued the show cause after its team recently visited and examined the facilities available at the medical colleges. During the inspection, the NMC team found that the GMCs in Pune did not have enough staff/faculty, and facilities. 

As per the latest media report by Pune Mirror, the NMC inspection revealed that a few of the medical colleges had less than 50 percent of faculty. For instance, there is, reportedly, only 18 percent of faculty at GMC Ratnagiri. Some of the medical colleges also do not have the required number of operation theatres, cadavers, and laboratories. Indira Gandhi Medical College in Nagpur is the only one that has not been served a notice.

The list of medical colleges that have been issued a show-cause also includes Pune-based BJ Medical College. Commenting on the NMC show-cause, the Dean of BJ Medical College, Dr Eknath Pawar told Pune Mirror, "NMC sends show cause notices to government medical colleges every year for various deficiencies like insufficient staff. Staff gets transferred, retired, and promoted. There are vacancies. We have received the show cause notice for insufficient staff and for a few more reasons. We are in the process of sending a reply to the NMC."

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the NMC issued a show-cause notice to Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College, which is run by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), highlighting serious deficiencies in infrastructure, staffing, and facilities at the institute.

In the show-cause notice, NMC questioned why the recognition of the medical college should not be revoked and a fine of Rs 1 crore should not be imposed.

Addressing the issue, the Former Deputy Mayor, Dr. Sidhartha Dhende, told the Daily, "There are not enough faculty, clinical staff, no laboratory, no hostel for students. The college is yet to get permission for the fourth year. No wonder, the NMC has sent it the show cause notice. Poor students take admission to government medical colleges to fulfil their dream to become doctors. But what kind of doctors are we producing without sufficient faculty and infrastructure?"

Also Read: Is Pune's Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College at Risk of Losing NMC Recognition?