Relief for 852 CPS Mumbai Students: Centre allows 2 attempts to clear final exams
Mumbai: In a major relief for students who were affected due to the derecognition of all postgraduate medical courses offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, CPS Mumbai, the Central Government has agreed before the Supreme Court of India to grant such students two final opportunities to clear their final examinations.
This relief will apply to 852 students of CPS Mumbai, and after clearing their final examinations, they will also get enrolled with the State and National Medical Councils, Hindustan Times has reported.
Medical Dialogues had reported that earlier this year, the Attorney General for India had informed the Apex Court that a viable solution would be arrived at to secure the future of students after the Bombay High Court upheld the derecognition of all PG medical courses offered by CPS Mumbai. Taking note of the issue, the Supreme Court on September 12 requested the intervention of the Attorney General for India to arrive at a viable solution in this regard.
Recently, the AG R Venkataramani had informed the Apex Court bench, comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan, that some progress had been made in registering the students so that they could take their examinations. He had informed the bench that 921 students had been identified who were awaiting the conduct of the examination.
However, the Senior Advocate Vikas Singh had pointed out that only 932 students were concerned with the National Medical Commission. He further informed the bench that there were students who were registered with the State Medical Commission, but had not been identified. In this regard, the AG had earlier responded that he would try to find the best modality to identify such students whose future was in limbo.
As per the latest media report by Hindustan Times, last year, 239 students admitted to the CPS were left hanging since the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) instructed the college not to admit any students. This decision was taken after the PG Medical Education Board of NMC discontinued these courses.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, the counsel for the State, submitted before the top court bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan that the Health Ministry had consulted with the NMC and other relevant authorities and reached an updated decision in this matter.
He stated that as a one-time measure, the 852 students enrolled in six fellowship courses, three diploma courses, and one other course, which had been discontinued back in 2024, will be allowed to appear for the final examinations conducted by CPS after the Apex Court grants its permission.
Further, these students will also get a second chance to sit for the exams, two months after their first attempt at the examination. The AG further submitted before the Court that if the students clear the exam, they will be allowed to hold the CPS degree and get registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council and the National Medical Commission.
These 852 students got enrolled in their respective courses back in 2022-2023, a year before these courses were discontinued for non-compliance with NMC regulations.
However, since the MoHFG had written to the CPS not to admit any students in 2024, the admissions that had already taken place were deemed "completely illegal" by the central authorities. Taking note of the issue, the Supreme Court requested the central authorities to reconsider the case of 57 students enrolled in 2017-2018 for the CPS courses, since they had already completed their degrees several years back, but they were still not enrolled in the medical council registers.
After the Centre Government's solution offered for the affected students, the Supreme Court has ordered CPS to Submit a list of all the students mentioned by the Central authorities. The bench has now listed the matter for further hearing on December 18.
The Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) derecognised all the courses offered by CPS on August 16, 2024, on the grounds of failure to comply with the regulatory mechanism under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. The show-cause notice stated that the CPS, Mumbai considers itself an examination-like body National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) having authority to give medical qualification. However, it pointed out that while National Board is a government organisation under the NMC Act, CPS is a non-government organisation having no authority to permit or recognise any course of qualification run by any hospital or to conduct examination or award degree.
Earlier this year, the Bombay High Court dismissed the plea filed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) challenging the derecognition of many postgraduate diploma courses that were deleted from the schedule of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), 1965.
On the same day, the High Court bench had allowed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging permission given to CPS to conduct 10 additional PG courses. The PIL was filed before the High Court by a Mumbai-based doctor, Suhas Pingle.
In the order, the HC bench had also mentioned that the decision taken by the NMC Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) in its July and August 2024 meetings also warranted no interference since it was founded in the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations (MSMER-2023) "to ensure higher standards of medical education across the country".
However, the bench had mentioned that if CPS were compliant with regulatory norms for maintaining standards in medical education, on ensuring compliance with permission sought under NMC Act, 2019, it may be able to start the courses, in the prescribed manner.
Also Read: CPS Mumbai Derecognition: AG promises Supreme Court a solution for affected students
