With Pending NMC recognition, MBBS graduates of Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences awaiting permanent registration

Varanasi: The MBBS graduates of Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences, Varanasi, who recently completed their MBBS Internship, are still waiting for their permanent registration certificates due to pending recognition from the NMC.

After submitting all the required documents and paying the processing fees, when the MBBS graduates of the 2017 batch approached the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council (UPMC), they got to know that the delay in issuing permanent registration is because of the pending recognition from the Apex medical commission.

Already the students have reached out to all the authorities including the NMC Chairman, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. In fact, they have also raised their grievance to the Public Grievances Portal of the Union Government.

However, their issues remain unsolved as the Apex medical education regulatory body has not yet granted recognition for their batch. In the absence of the National Medical Commission's (NMC) recognition, the MBBS graduates of the 2017 batch are facing trouble in getting themselves registered with the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council (UPMC) and practice.

Apart from this, because of pending recognition, these MBBS graduates are also unable to participate in the post-graduation entrance examination and counselling process of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) examination, Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INICET), etc.

Based in Varanasi, Heritage Institute of Medical Sciences run by private management and it is affiliated with Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi. While earlier the intake capacity of the medical college was for 150 MBBS seats, the intake was increased by 50 seats during the academic year 2023-2024. Although the MBBS batch of 2015 and 2016 have been granted recognition by the NMC, the recent graduates, who belong to the 2017 batch are still waiting for the same.

Also Read: 3 Medical Colleges Lack NMC Recognition, Around 300 MBBS Graduates in UP face uncertain future

"Recognized for 150 seats when degree awarded on or after March, 2020 only for 2015-16 batch. Batch recognition granted for 2016-'17 batch of 150 students when degree awarded in 2021-'22. Renewal of permission to admit 150 students in 2022. Increase of seats from 150 to 200 have been permitted u/s 26(1) (b), 28 (1) (2) and 61(2) during Academic Year 2023-2024," the NMC portal mentioned in respect of the medical college.

Raising the issue, recently the students of the 2017 batch submitted their complaint to the Public Grievances Portal of the Union Government and mentioned, "To pursue our medical careers and obtain permanent registration, we need recognition from the NMC. I submitted all required documents and paid the processing fee on 25th May 2023 to the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council. However, I have yet to receive my permanent registration certificate, causing uncertainty and jeopardizing our professional aspirations. Attempts to seek clarification have been futile, as the Uttar Pradesh Medical Council disclosed that the delay is due to the non-receipt of a recognition letter from the NMC. This lack of coordination and communication raises serious concerns about the NMC's efficiency and administrative ethics."

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, an MBBS student of the 2017 batch mentioned on the condition of anonymity, "We completed our MBBS internship on 16th May 2023. The authorities verified our documents and they asked us to pay the amount of around Rs 3540 for the permanent registration. They told us that we would get the permanent registration within 3-4 days. However, one month has passed, but we did not get any notification or intimation in this regard from the side of the authorities."

"We got the provisional degrees. It is valid until November 2023. For the permanent degrees, even the 2015 batch students are waiting. They are also pursuing jobs or PG medical courses on the basis of provisional degrees. Although there were vacancies for JR ship, we could not apply. We are unable to apply for jobs as well as they are asking for permanent registration. Around 135 students of the 2017 batch have been calling the college authorities. But we did not get any reply.," the student added.

"Our stipend for the last three months is also pending. They had earlier assured us that we would get the stipend within May 25. But until this day, we have not received it. We used to get around Rs 4,000 per month. Raising all these issues, we wrote to the college authorities and we also wrote to Brajesh Pathak sir. However, the issue remains unsolved," mentioned the student adding that the college authorities have asked them to wait for a while for the recognition from NMC.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that around 300 medical graduates in Uttar Pradesh were facing a similar problem since they are unable to register with the State Medical Faculty (SMF) in the absence of recognition from the Apex medical commission.