After Exclusion, Medical MSc Teachers Raise Concern Against Medical Commission Guidelines

National M.Sc. Medical Teachers' Association (NMMTA) has expressed concern after the National Medical Commission (NMC) excluded non-medical teachers from the paraclinical specialties of Pharmacology and Microbiology in its latest guidelines.

Earlier, the NMC's decision to reduce the number of posts for non-MBBS teachers in medical institutions had sparked fear of job losses among currently-employed teachers. According to the website of the Medical Council of India (MCI), which was recently replaced by NMC, in 2017, around 13% of the teaching faculty in medical colleges were 'non-medical' degree holders.

The Association has said that the medical M.Sc. courses, which are conducted in the medical colleges on the lines of MD courses, need reforms. In a statement, Dr Sridhar Rao, President of NMMTA said, "Ever since MCI silently abandoned regulating these courses, they are now regulated by individual health universities. In the absence of a regulating scientific council, there are variations in these courses with respect to the mode of admissions, duration of courses, dissertation, etc. Also, the curriculum needs to be upgraded with the changing times."

He added, "Although the UGC (University Grants Commission) recognises these courses, the education ministry has done little as these courses come under the ambit of medical colleges. We want reforms in and regulations of these courses; only medical colleges must be permitted to run them."

According to Arjun Maitra, PhD aspirants who wish to appear for NET examination are forced to take an exam on Life Sciences as no separate subjects are available for those who pursued Medical MSc subjects. He said, "General MSc & Medical MSc are different as the former is the core life sciences and the latter one is specialised to suit the medical field. This puts us at a disadvantage when we scientists wish to clear NET tests for pursuing PhD."

A delegation from NMMTA also met the Health Secretary over the controversial move of the NMC to downsize the percentage of "non-medical" teachers. As per the previous MCI norms, up to 30% (50% in Biochemistry) of faculty in the non-clinical subjects could be scientists with medical MSc/PhD qualifications. According to a statement released by the Association, the scientist teachers had been forced to approach the Health Ministry. "While the NMC is within its rights to frame qualifications, it is the Health Ministry which must provide its policies and directions. The manner in which NMC has taken this decision without due diligence is questionable", said Dr. Rao.

NMMTA is a registered association of scientists with Medical MSc/PhD qualifications, most of whom are working as non-medical teachers in medical colleges under various designations ranging from tutors to professors and HODs. It is estimated that more than 4,000 non-medical teachers are currently employed in medical colleges, many of whom will be affected by the new NMC guidelines. The association has filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court challenging these regulations, and the next hearing is scheduled for February 17.