Upto Rs 1 crore penalty, Stoppage of admissions: NMC warns medical colleges of harsh penalties for forcing medicos to stay in hostel

Written by Barsha Misra Published On 2024-02-21T15:45:19+05:30 | Updated On 21 Feb 2024 5:44 PM IST

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New Delhi: Reiterating the fact that staying in hostels is not obligatory for postgraduate medical students, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has once again issued a warning to the medical colleges over forcing the PG medicos to stay in the designated hostels and charging hefty fees for the same.

The apex medical regulator stated that it has received numerous complaints from PG medical students alleging coercion by medical institutions to stay in designated hostels, accompanied by hefty charges. The Commission warned the medical colleges that failure to comply with the rules may result in punitive action including monetary penalty, reduction of seats, or suspension of admissions.

In its notice, referring to the recently released Post Graduate Medical Education Regulation (PGMER) 2023, the Apex Medical Commission highlighted that even though the regulations make it mandatory for colleges to provide suitable residential accommodation to PG medicos, it is not mandatory for the students to stay there.

In fact, the PGMER 2000 also did not make it mandatory for PG medicos to compulsorily stay in the college-provided hostels, NMC pointed out in its notice dated 19.02.2024.

This is not the first time that NMC has addressed the concerns of PG medicos regarding the mandatory hostel accommodation. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that issuing a public notice dated 8th February 2024, NMC issued a similar warning for medical colleges concerning hostel accommodation for the PG medicos.

Also Read: All PG medical students to work as full-time resident doctors for reasonable working hours: NMC PGMER 2023

The notice was issued by NMC after it received several complaints from students that hostels or medical institutes are compelling them to stay in the hostel and charging a hefty amount for the same.

Reiterating the warning, NMC Media/Publication Division issued another notification on Monday and mentioned, "In a recent public notice dated 8th February 2024, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has addressed concerns regarding hostel accommodation for post-graduate medical students. The notice highlights Regulation 5.6 of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulation (PGMER), 2023, which mandates colleges to provide suitable residential accommodation to post-graduate students. However, it emphasizes that it is not obligatory for the students to reside in these hostels."

"The notice underscores that previous regulations, such as the PGMER, 2000, did not mandate the compulsory stay of post-graduate medical students in college-provided hostels," it further mentioned.

The Commission highlighted that despite the clear directive, it received numerous complaints from PG students alleging coercion by medical colleges/institutions to stay in designated hostels, accompanied by hefty charges. Referring to this, the Commission mentioned, "Such actions are deemed violations of Regulation 5.6 of the PGMER, 2023."

Asking the colleges to strictly adhere to the regulations, NMC reminded that failure to comply with the same may result in punitive action, reduction of seats, or suspension of admissions.

"In response to these grievances, the NMC directs all medical colleges and institutes to adhere strictly. to the stipulations outlined in the aforementioned Regulation. Failure to comply may result in punitive actions, including monetary penalties, reduction of seats, or suspension of admissions, as outlined in Regulations 9.1 and 9.2 of the PGMER, 2023," the notice stated.

As per PGMER 2023, regulations 9.1 and 9.2 specify the following penalties:

9.1 Penalty for Violation of Regulations: For non-compliance or omission, the PGMEB will penalize the medical college/institution.

9.2 Without prejudice to anything stated at Section 9.1 above, the imposition of the penalty which may include one/more/ all of the following –

a. Issuance of warning with direction to rectify/comply, as the case may be, by the medical institution.

b. Monetary penalty not exceeding INR one Crore per every violation/act of omission committed by the medical institution;

c. Monetary penalty not exceeding Rupees five Lakhs for the faculty/ Head of the Department (HOD)/Dean/Director/Doctor submitting false declaration/ documents/ records (including patients’ records). Further, they can also be charged or penalized for misconduct under the Professional Conduct Regulations in force.

d. Recommending to MARB for withholding processing of application(s) for any new course including increase of seats in the existing course for that academic year or for such number of years.

e. Reducing the number of students in the next or subsequent academic years to be admitted by the medical institution.

f. Stoppage of admission to one or more of the courses in the next or subsequent academic years.

g. Recommending to NMC for withdrawal of permission.

h. Any attempt to pressurize PGMEB or NMC through individuals or agency will lead to immediate halt of the processing the application/request by the medical institution. Provided further that the medical institution, shall be granted a reasonable opportunity to rectify the deficiencies and any further action shall be taken if it fails to meet the requisite norms.

Provided further that, the PGMEB or the NMC may also initiate criminal proceedings for furnishing false information, or fabrication of false documents as per the criminal law in force at that time, the regulations add.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently released PGMER 2023 regulations stipulated that it would be mandatory for the college to provide appropriate residential accommodation to PG students. However, it would not be mandatory for the PG students to stay in the hostel.

To view the NMC notice, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-press-release-232722.pdf

Also Read: NMC slams Medical Colleges for Compelling PG medicos to stay in hostel, warns of strict action

national medical commissionNMChostel accommodationpostgraduate medical studentsPGMER 2023medical collegespg medicalpenalty

Barsha Misra

Barsha completed her Master's in English from the University of Burdwan, West Bengal in 2018. Having a knack for Journalism she joined Medical Dialogues back in 2020. She mainly covers news about medico legal cases, NMC/DCI updates, medical education issues including the latest updates about medical and dental colleges in India. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.