NMC slaps penalty on 27 Karnataka Medical Colleges, 5 institutes fined Rs 15 lakh each
Bengaluru: Taking serious cognizance of poor infrastructure and deficiencies in facilities, at least 27 medical colleges across the state of Karnataka, including several government institutions, have been penalised by the National Medical Commission (NMC), suggests a recent report by Deccan Herald.
Meanwhile, the data obtained from the Department of Medical Education, Karnataka, reveals that a shortage of faculty members is a prevalent issue among these colleges. Even long-established institutions face similar problems as newer ones.
According to the Deccan Herald report, penalties imposed on these colleges range from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, with five government medical colleges receiving the highest fines.
The government-run Chikkamagaluru Institute of Medical Sciences, Chitradurga Institute of Medical Sciences, Chikkaballapur Institute of Medical Sciences, MIMS Mandya, and YIMS Yadgir have each been fined Rs 15 lakh, the highest penalty imposed. Other government institutions that have been penalized include KRIMS Karwar, MMCRI Mysuru, GIMS Gulbarga, SIMS Shivamogga, Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences, and CIMS Chamrajnagar (each fined Rs 3 lakh), and KIMS Hubli (fined Rs 2 lakh), reports Deccan Herald.
Speaking to the Deccan Herald, a senior official at the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), informed that additionally, 11 private medical colleges, which failed to meet NMC standards, have also been penalized. “Two ESI colleges are also on the list of institutions penalized by the national body,” the official said.
Before the NMC's expert committee inspection, a local inspection committee from RGUHS had visited these medical colleges. A former vice-chancellor of RGUHS has urged the university administration to take stringent action against institutions lacking basic infrastructure and facilities, reports the daily.
“Such institutions must not be recommended for renewal of affiliation, or be allowed to increase their intake of students. There is no room for compromise with institutions not measuring up to the expected standards, regardless of whether they are state-run or private,” the former VC said.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil acknowledged the penalties imposed by the NMC on medical colleges in the state. “It is true that there are some shortcomings at these institutions. I have directed the officials to take steps to rectify them,” the minister said.
NMC introduced the provisions of monetary penalty in the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 or MSMER 2023. The Commission had mentioned that it may impose several forms of penalty such as issue warning to the medical college to rectify or comply, impose monetary penalty up to Rs 1 crore, impose penalty up to Rs 5 lakhs to the faculties of the medical college for misconduct. It may also withhold the accreditation process, recommend to the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of NMC to withhold the application process for any new course including increase of seats in the existing course, reduce the number of students in the next or subsequent academic years, stop admission to one or more courses, recommend for withdrawal of permission, withhold or withdraw accreditation for up to five academic years.
Earlier, for the first time, taking note of deficiencies in faculty and clinical material, NMC imposed fines on medical colleges for violating the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 (MSMER) rules. The Commission slapped a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh on government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, including the colleges in Dharmapuri, Ramanathapuram, and Nagapattinam. Apart from these colleges, the Commission also issued show-cause notices to many other colleges for deficiencies in Aadhaar-based biometric attendance.
Later, noticing a critical faculty shortage and lack of essential resources, the Commission took strict action against the government medical colleges in Chhattiagarh. NMC slapped a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Kanker Medical College, Rs 4 lakh fine on Durg Medical College, and Rs 3 lakh fine each in the medical colleges located at Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Mahasamund, and Jagdalpur. Along with this, Mahasamund, Kanker, and Raigarh medical colleges have also been served with show-cause notices over the shortage of faculty.
NMC had recently imposed a Rs 3 lakh penalty on Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Sector 32 for non-compliance with the commission's standards.
