Top NMC posts still lying vacant! Here's what Health Ministry said
National Medical Commission (NMC)
New Delhi: For several months, the key positions at the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body in India, have been lying vacant, revealed a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application.
Responding to the RTI application filed by Health Activist Dr. KV Babu, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that 10 of the 19 positions at the Commission are vacant.
The list of vacant positions includes the posts of President of two Autonomous Bodies of the Commission, informed the Ministry, adding that applications have been invited to fill up the posts.
Also Read: Govt invites applications to fill up top NMC vacant posts
As per the latest media report by The New Indian Express, in its reply dated October 24, the ministry informed that "appointment to various posts in NMC is under process." However, Dr. Babu pointed out that the Ministry gave the same reply in January this year.
The Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body, NMC, has altogether 33 members. There are altogether four Autonomous Boards in the Commission including the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), and Medical Assessment Rating Board (MARB).
Earlier this year in July, Chairman Dr. BN Gangadhar, who had been working as an officiating head since September last year, was appointed full-time. Apart from working as the officiating head, Dr. Gangadhar also held the position of the President of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the Commission.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that as per the data available on the NMC website, apart from the PG Board of the Commission, the other Boards of the Commission currently do not have a President as all these posts are lying vacant.
Currently, the UG Board of NMC only has two part-time members. Similarly, the posts of whole-time members of NMC PGMEB are lying vacant, according to the data on the Commission's website. Similarly, the Medical Assessment and Rating Board and the Ethics Board of the Commission have only two and one part-time members respectively.
TNIE has reported that two of the five positions of PGMEB, three out of five positions of UGMEB are lying vacant. The Ethics Board of NMC also has three vacant posts.
Earlier, the Union Health Ministry had invited applications to fill up the vacant posts in the four Autonomous Boards of NMC. Applications were invited for the posts of President, Secretary, and members of the Commission, along with the key positions in the four boards under the NMC.
On this, Dr. Babu from Kerala pointed out that the Health Ministry took more than a year to make appointments to these posts. Vacant positions that had to be filled in 2023 were filled this year," Dr. Babu mentioned, adding that the Ministry invited applications for several posts in August even though the terms of many members were about to end on September 25.
Also Read: Top NMC Posts Lying Vacant, Govt Invites Applications
