Ceiling reduced for non-MBBS teachers in medical colleges
NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has decided to significantly reduce the ceiling of non-medical teachers in medical colleges after first proposing to allow up to 30% non-MBBS teachers to teach several preclinical subjects.
In the latest “Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations, 2020” notified last week, the medical education regulator has said while in anatomy and physiology subjects, 15% non- medical teachers can be hired, there is no provision of non-MBBS teachers for pharmacology and microbiology. For biochemistry, for which the ceiling was the highest 50%, as per the existing practice, the limit has been brought down to 15%.
Officials in the NMS said the amends were made in the draft norms as it was felt that for the new competency-based medical education, it is rational for doctors under training to be taught largely by those who have a degree in medicine themselves.
“It was earlier thought to continue with the existing practice, but the norms were later revised after the deliberations and feedback from various stakeholders,” a senior official told this newspaper. As of now, up to 30% of faculty members, who teach various pre-clinical subjects to first and second-year students in medical colleges, do not have MBBS degrees.
The practice has continued since decades when there were not enough qualified teachers and the MCI had permitted that MBBS with a general MSc degree to be employed in medical colleges for non-clinical subjects.Over the period of time, even non-MBBS with masters and doctorate in life sciences started being recruited as faculty in the majority of the medical colleges.
“We are happy that the NMC, which promises to usher in reforms in the medical education sector, has heard our long-term pleas and reduced the scope for the hiring of non-MBBS faculty in medical colleges,” said Dr Anoop Singh Gurjar, general secretary of the All India Pre and Para Clinical Medicos Association.
The association is rooting for the phasing out of the non-medical teachers from medical colleges.
“In the new curriculum that emphasises on early clinical exposure for medical students, there is no place for faculty who themselves have no experience in medicine,” said Dr Gurjar. Sources in the commission, meanwhile, clarified that the new norms will guide the new appointments but will not have a direct impact on those already employed.