Make all medical college assessment reports public: CIC tells NMC

New Delhi: While considering a complaint seeking data regarding the medical colleges, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has advised the National Medical Commission (NMC) to upload the medical college assessment reports for the current academic year on the NMC website.

Approaching the CIC, the complainant submitted that as the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) was scrapped by National Medical Commission in September 2020, its website was also replaced by the NMC website in the new domain. Along with this, the data and other documents uploaded by MCI which included the college assessment reports (infrastructure and related assessments according to Minimum Standard requirements) of the previous academic year were also removed from the MCI website.

It was also submitted by the complainant that NMC is not uploading medial college assessment reports for current academic years on its website. Meanwhile, when the complainant approached the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) seeking the information in this regard, it was denied by NMC.

Medical Dialogues had last year reported that filing the RTI application when Dr. Mohammed Khader Meeran had approached and sought the medical college assessment reports for the academic year 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, it was denied by NMC on the ground that "the information sought is very voluminous and scattered in various files. It would disproportionately divert the resource of MARB of NMC."

Also Read: NMC refuses to share medical college assessment data in public domain

Dissatisfied with the information furnished, the complainant approached CIC and filed a complaint. It was argued by the complainant that NMC is a public authority, which inspects medical colleges during every academic year and checks whether such colleges have sufficient infrastructure, number of teaching faculties, maintenance of equipment etc.

On the basis of the observations made during the inspection, NMC prepares assessment reports every year for each medical college. Based on the report, the medical colleges are given or denied recognition for the concerned academic year. The complainant argued that these assessment reports are public documents under Section 4 (1) (b) of Right to Information Act and it is supposed to be pro-actively disclosed by CPIO of NMC.

Further, the complainant pointed out that these assessment reports have huge public importance. Disclosing these reports are the only way through which, standards of each medical college hospital, additional facilities could be known to the aspiring medial students.

The complainant further submitted that CIC has already decided that these medical college assessment reports are public documents and it had ordered MCI to disclose the assessment reports of medical colleges. Referring to this, the complainant argued that NMC is the legal successor of erstwhile MCI and therefore the CIC order to MCI regarding disclosing the assessment reports of medical colleges are binding to NMC's CPIO.

However, while considering the appeal, the CIC noted that the complainant had preferred the complaint under section 18 of the RTI Act and noted that if the complainant was aggrieved with the reply provided by the CPIO, then he could have approached the Commission by filing an appeal.

"The Commission therefore is unable to adjudicate the adequacy of information to be disclosed under section 18 of the RTI Act. Thus, the limited point to be adjudicated in these complaints’ u/s 18 of RTI Act is whether the information was denied intentionally," observed CIC in its order.

"The Commission has gone through the case records and on the basis of proceedings during hearing observes that point wise reply was provided to the complainant by the CPIO. The Commission therefore does not find any malafide intention on the part of then CPIO," it further observed.

However, while disposing of the complaint, the Central Information Commission (CIC) advised NMC to upload the data regarding college assessment reports on its website.

In this regard, the order stated, "Further the Commission advises the respondent to upload medical college assessment reports for the current academic years on their website. Hence no further action lies."

To view the CIC order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/cic-order-206571.pdf

Also Read: NMC denies to share medical college assessment data in public domain