The National Medical Commission (NMC) has taken a decision to reduce the ceiling of non-medical teachers in the medical colleges after proposing first to allow almost 30% non-MBBS teachers for teaching various preclinical subjects.

In the recent up-to-date “Minimum Requirements for Annual MBBS Admissions Regulations, 2020” that was notified last week, the medical education regulator said that in anatomy and physiology subjects, up to 15% non- medical teachers could be hired. There is no provision of non-MBBS teachers for microbiology and pharmacology. The ceiling was highest 50%, for biochemistry, as per the existing practice but has been brought down to 15%.

The NMS Officials said that the amendments were done in the draft norms as it felt the need of the new competency-based medical education. It should be balanced for doctors who are under training to be taught mostly by those teachers having a degree in medicine themselves.

A senior official said that it was earlier supposed to continue with the present practice, but the norms were revised after the discussions and feedback from several stakeholders. Presently, up to 30% of faculty members teaching various pre-clinical subjects to 1st and 2nd year students in medical colleges, don’t have MBBS degrees.

This practice has continued since many decades as there weren’t enough qualified teachers and the MCI had allowed MBBS with a general MSc degree to be hired in medical colleges for non-clinical subjects. And over the period of time, non-MBBS with masters and doctorate in life sciences were started to be employed as faculty in the majority of the medical colleges.

Dr Anoop Singh Gurjar, General secretary of the All India Pre and Para Clinical Medicos Association. Said that they are happy that the NMC promises to bring reforms in the medical education sector and has heard their long-term appeals and has reduced the scope for the employment of non-MBBS faculty in medical colleges. The association is rooting for the elimination of the non-medical teachers from medical colleges. The new curriculum highlights the early clinical exposure for medical students. Hence, there is no place for such a faculty who have no experience in medicine. Meanwhile, the sources in the commission had clarified that the new norms would be guiding the new appointments but won’t have a direct effect on those employed already.

Source: The New Indian Express