State of Medical Education in India

• 17 Apr 2024

For Prelims: National Medical Commission, National Health Policy, Paramedics, Russia conflict with Ukraine.

For Mains: Challenges for Medical Education in India, Reforms for Medical Education in India.

Source: IE

Why in News?

The Ukraine-Russia war apart from other difficulties and hardships has led to tough times for Indian medical students in Ukraine. In February 2022, about 18000 Indian medical students studying in Ukraine were forced to return home after the country’s conflict with Russia escalated into a war.

• As a one-time exception, the National Medical Commission allowed 4,000 of these students, who were in their final semesters, to complete their internship at home.
• According to a report, around 70% of these repatriated MBBS students are now pursuing their courses from colleges in Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Georgia.
• These colleges are also attracting students’ new batches of students from India to pursue medical education.

What are the Challenges Related to Medical Education in India?

• Limited Number of Seats: Medical college seats are still far less than the number of aspirants. The ratio of medical college seats to aspirants is about 20:1.
• Increase in Number of Aspirants: As per the study conducted by the National Institute of Educational Planning, the number of students taking the test has increased by almost 3 times in the past 10 years and only 0.25% make it to the top colleges.
• Uneven Distribution of Medical Colleges: Medical colleges in India are concentrated in urban areas which creates a vacuum in the rural areas.
• High Fees of Private Medical Colleges: Government institutions are more affordable in terms of fees and education quality.
• Outdated Curriculum: The curriculum of many medical colleges in India is outdated and not aligned with current medical practices. This leads to a gap between what students learn in medical school and the skills required in clinical practice.
• Lack of Infrastructure: Many medical colleges in India lack the necessary infrastructure to provide high-quality medical education. This includes modern laboratories, advanced medical equipment, and access to technology.
• Insufficient Emphasis on Practical Training: Medical education in India is often theory-based, with insufficient emphasis on practical training. This can result in doctors graduating without sufficient practical experience.
• Poor Medical Research: There is less emphasis on medical research in India as compared to other developed nations. Mostly, doctors in India prefer to take jobs after completion of their education, thus research is neglected.

National Medical Commission (NMC):

• The NMC has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
• The NMC acts as India's top regulator of medical education and practice.
• Committed to upholding the highest standards in healthcare education, NMC ensures the delivery of quality medical education and training across the nation.

What Initiatives have been Taken to Reform Medical Education?

• National Medical Commission: The inefficient and opaque Medical Council of India (MCI) has been completely overhauled, establishing the National Medical Commission (NMC) of the highest standards in professional integrity, experience, stature, and excellence.
  • Competent individuals have been carefully selected and placed at the helm to further steer these reforms.
• Raising the Number of Seats: The Government is scaling up the number of seats by converting district hospitals into medical colleges using a private-public partnership model.
• Regulation of Fees: The National Medical Commission (NMC) Act has the provision to regulate fees and all other charges in 50% of the seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities. NMC is framing guidelines in this regard.
• One Country One Exam: For MBBS admissions, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was introduced in 2016, which ensured 'one country, one examination, one merit' system and a common counselling system.
• Minimum Standard Requirement: It pertains to streamlining the entire regulations on Minimum Standards Requirement (MSR) for the establishment of medical colleges.
• Regular Quality Assessments: Quality assessments of medical colleges should be regularly conducted, and reports should be available in the public domain. The NMC is conducting a common exit exam for all medical undergraduates as a quality control measure.

What are Recommendations for Improving the Quality of Medical Education in India?

• NITI Ayog proposed to link private colleges to district hospitals to serve the underserved areas of the country.
• Enhancing the skills of Paramedics and nurses will help to cater to non-specialist demands of the medical sector and could tackle the problem of shortage of doctors.
• Public investment for starting medical colleges can be encouraged along with encouraging the private sector to set up medical colleges, with appropriate incentives.
• Optimal use of existing infrastructure to expand medical education facilities.
• Adopting a comprehensive India-specific approach for the creation of seats for specialists.
• To prevent the presence of 'ghost faculty' (teachers who exist only on paper but are paid a salary) in medical colleges, streamlining the recruitment process is imperative.
• Regular performance evaluations of colleges to identify and address concerns promptly.

Drishti Mains Question:

Q. What are the challenges related to Medical Education in India and how has it been impacted by the recent Russia-Ukraine crisis?

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Prelims:

Q. Which of the following provisions of the Constitution does India have a bearing on Education? (2012)

1. Directive Principles of State Policy
2. Rural and Urban Local Bodies
3. Fifth Schedule
4. Sixth Schedule
5. Seventh Schedule

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3, 4 and 5 only
(c) 1, 2 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Ans- (d)