CPS Controversy in Parliament: Health Ministry answers on Recognition disparity
CPS Courses
New Delhi: When asked about the disparity in the recognition of the postgraduate medical qualifications offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) across different States/UTs, the Union Minister of State for Health, Smt. Anupriya Patel informed the Parliament that any University or medical institute granting a UG, PG, or Super Speciality medical qualification not included in the NMC list may apply to the National Medical Commission (NMC) before the commencement of the course.
The Minister further acknowledged the disparity in the recognition of CPS courses depending on the States/UTs and pointed out that some states recognized qualifications of CPS based on the statutory provisions of the concerned State legislation.
Minister Patel clarified the issues concerning CPS courses after queries were raised in this regard in the Lok Sabha by Shri Harendra Singh Malik. He asked from the Minister regarding the reasons for the disparity in the recognition of postgraduate qualifications of CPS Mumbai, as he pointed out that while some States allow practice, others do not.
Apart from this, he also sought details of the measures being taken by the Government to bring uniformity and ensure that these qualifications were recognised across all the States and Union Territories. Further, he questioned about the reasons for not recognising and giving priority to the students who have cleared the exam and bringing them into the mainstream despite the fact that CPS is a centuries-old pre-independence era institute and asked whether the Government proposed to ensure their recognition and give them opportunities to advance their education.
Also Read: HC upholds derecognition of CPS Diploma courses
In response to these queries, Smt Patel answered, "National Medical Commission is a statutory body constituted under National Medical Commission (NMC) Act, 2019. Section 35 of the NMC Act, 2019 mentions about the recognition of medical qualifications granted by Universities or medical institutions in India. Furthermore, any University or medical institution in India which grants an undergraduate or postgraduate or super-speciality medical qualification not included in the list maintained by the NMC, may apply to NMC before starting a course leading to a recognized medical qualification."
"Some states recognized qualifications of CPS based on the statutory provisions of the concerned state legislation," she added.
The CPS Controversy:
Despite being more than a 100-year-old institute, CPS Mumbai has been facing controversies for a long time. CPS Mumbai is an autonomous body that imparts Postgraduate medical education and offers fellowship, diploma, and certificate courses for medical professionals. For the Diploma courses, the tenure is two years; in case of Fellowship, the tenure is three years. After obtaining the qualification granted by CPS Mumbai, the practitioners are allowed to register themselves as specialists in the concerned speciality.
However, citing significant gaps in the standards or institutes offering CPS courses, the Medical Education Department of Maharashtra previously wrote to the Union Health Ministry asking for its opinion on whether counselling could be conducted for around 1,100 CPS seats.
Back then, writing to the Centre, the department had referred to the inspection of the Maharashtra Medical Council and how during the inspection, MMC had found "severe deficiencies" in several institutes. Consequently, the Central Government set up an eight-member committee to look into the matter.
According to the website of CPS Mumbai, CPS courses are recognised in States/UTs including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Orissa. However, the controversy continued further, and the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC recommended to the Union Health Ministry to withdraw the popular DPB- Diploma in Pathology and Bacteriology, DCH - Diploma in Child Health and DGO- Diploma Gynecology and Obstetrics courses run by CPS from the next academic year.
After NMC, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) also offered rejection to the CPS courses by refusing to bring them under the aegis of the NBE and these courses started losing their value across the States. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that amid the CPS controversy, States including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka were reportedly considering decreasing the intake for the CPS courses or discontinuing them.
Back in 2023, the Maharashtra Government de-recognised the courses offered by CPS and asked the medical institutes and hospitals not to admit students for any of the 26 diplomas or fellowships offered by CPS, Mumbai.
Ultimately, the matter reached the High Court. Filing a plea, the CPS sought permission from the HC to admit students in the 2024-2025 academic year. However, the HC recently dismissed the plea and upheld the derecognition, barring new admissions for 2024-2025.
Also Read: HC Bars CPS Admissions for 2024-2025 academic year
