NMC Issues Show-Cause to GMCH Chandigarh over Faculty Attendance Shortfall in 20 Depts
Chandigarh: The Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) 32 has been issued with a show-cause notice from the National Medical Commission (NMC) for not complying with the provisions of the Aadhar-enabled biometric attendance system (AEBAS). The NMC noted that 20 departments of the medical institute had attendance deficiencies.
As per the NMC rules, the undergraduate and postgraduate medical colleges imparting medical education must ensure that their faculties have 75% attendance of the total working days.
In the UG-MSR 2023 document, NMC specified that all the medical colleges should install an Aadhaar-Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) to be linked to Command and Control center of NMC and the daily AEBAS of the required staff (faculty, residents and supporting staff), preferably along with face linked recognition, shall be made available to NMC as well as on the Medical College Website in the form of daily attendance dashboard.
Further, the NMC guidelines also specified that it shall be mandatory for medical colleges to have at least 75% of the total working days (excluding vacations) for all faculty and resident doctors.
Again in the PGMSR-2023 document, which was notified by the NMC on 15.01.2024, the Commission made it mandatory for the faculties in the medical colleges to have at least 75% attendance of the total working days. NMC further clarified that the medical college faculties shall work full-time and they shall not engage in private practice during the college hours.
Meanwhile, AEBAS is necessary for all medical colleges to get recognition, renewal from NMC. NMC rules make it mandatory for medical colleges to install AEBAS linked to the command-and control centre of the NMC. The rules require that AEBAS of faculty, residents and supporting staff, preferably along with face-inked recognition, should be made available to NMC as well as on the medical college website in the form of daily attendance dashboard. The main objective of AEBAS is to regulate ghost faculty in medical colleges.
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the provision for 75% attendance has not been abided by the authorities since 2023. Even though previously NMC had granted a period of one year to the authorities to abide by the rule, the deficiency remains. Commenting on the matter, the Director Principal of GMCH 32, Prof AK Attri told the Daily, "This notice has been issued to almost all the medical colleges in the country. We have held a meeting and directed the staff to follow the practice of the attendance."
The show-cause issued to GMCH 32 mentioned, "It has been found that your college is deficient of required attendance. Your college has failed to meet the required faculty requirements for the existing MBBS course being run in the college for 2023-24. This has been viewed seriously by the competent authority."
Issuing the show-cause NMC has strictly directed the college to furnish a reply within 15 days, without which necessary action shall be taken.
Indian Medical Colleges have been reeling under a shortage of adequate faculty for a long time. Medical Dialogues had last year reported that 349 out of the total 654 medical colleges across the country got a show cause notice from the Apex Medical regulator NMC for violations of the Minimum Standard Requirements 2020 including a deficiency in having the required faculty numbers.
Last year, in an assessment conducted for the academic year 2022-2023, NMC had unveiled a disconcerting reality within a majority of medical colleges. Those institutes were riddled with ghost faculties and senior residents, coupled with none meeting the mandated 50% attendance requirement.
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