NEW DELHI: The number of post-graduate medical seats in India could go up by 30 per cent, starting from the 2020 academic year, as the medical education regulator has approved a demand by the states to increase PG medical seats in order to implement the new district residency scheme. Under the scheme, planned by the Medical Council of India-Board of Governors, every post-graduate medical student will need to serve at a district hospital for three months in order to be eligible to get their degrees.
During consultations held over the scheme, the states had contended that if it’s implemented, the services in medical college hospitals could be adversely impacted during periods when students are posted out.
“We have therefore decided to grant a proportionate enhancement of PG seats over the current numbers to compensate for the three-month posting of students at district hospitals,” a senior official told this newspaper.
Medical education experts, meanwhile, said that the frequent increases in the UG and PG medical seats, without taking into account the faculty and infrastructure requirements in colleges, could be detrimental in the long run. “We are seeing a considerable hike in MBBS and PG seats every year for the last few years. While it’s true that India needs doctors and specialists, the minimum requirements to train these students should not be ignored at any cost,” a senior faculty member at the AIIMS, Delhi said on condition of anonymity.