30 MD, MS Seats slashed in 7 WB Medical Colleges in 2 years: Health Minister

Kolkata: The National Medical Commission (NMC) reduced altogether 30 MD/MS seats in seven state-run medical colleges in 2023 and 2024 in West Bengal.

The list of medical colleges that were penalised by PG seats reduction includes Bankura Sammilani Medical College & Hospital, Bankura, Midnapore Medical College & Hospital, Burdwan Medical College, IPGMER Kolkata, Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College, RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata, Medical College, Kolkata.

NMC reduced PG seats in specialities, including MD Anaesthesiology, MD General Medicine, MS General Surgery, MD Pediatrics, MD – Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy, MS- Obstetrics & Gynecology, and MD Respiratory Medicine, among others.

The data in this regard was shared by the Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel while responding to a question raised by MP Samik Bhattacharya in the Parliament.

Mr. Bhattacharya questioned the Ministry about the violations of NMC guidelines in West Bengal medical colleges, sought the status of NMC approval for Sanjiban Hospital and Medical College, Howrah.

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Further, he sought to know about the number of private and Government medical colleges in West Bengal that received penalties, show-cause notices, or threats of seat reduction for non-compliance with infrastructure, faculty, stipend, or data-submission norms.

In response, the MoS Health informed that 34 medical colleges (Government and Private) were found deficient regarding faculty/infrastructure/other clinical parameters in academic year 2024-2025 and in the year 2025-2026, the number of such colleges increased to 37. These colleges were issued show-cause notices.

"Further, Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC also while scrutinizing the recognition/ renewal of recognition applications for the year 2022 had observed deficiencies primarily relating to the faculty/ infrastructure/AEBAS and penalized some colleges by reducing the number of seats for AY 2024-25 under the provisions of Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 (MSMER-2023) and erstwhile Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, (PGMER-2000)," informed the Minister.

The Ministry also provided a list of penalised medical colleges along with the number of PG seats reduced at such colleges and the reason and nature of deficiencies for the reduction.

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