Jammu and Kashmir Plans to Expand Medical Capacity; 450 MBBS, 333 PG Seats Expected

J&K medical colleges may face delays in getting an extension for the number of UG/ PG medical seats and NMC approval due to a shortage of qualified teachers. The NMC requires a sufficient student-faculty ratio based on the number of students.

Jammu and Kashmir is planning to extend medical seats in order to expand the capacity of medical education. Reportedly, 450 MBBS seats and 333 PG medical seats are expected to increase across the region in the academic year 2025. 

Several regional medical colleges have requested an additional 50 MBBS seats each under directions issued by the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir.  According to Medical Dialogues, despite the planned progress, a serious limited availability of qualified faculty members might disrupt the National Medical Commission (NMC) certification process to give clearance, which requires medical institutions to stick to a required staff-to-student ratio.

This challenge becomes particularly noticeable in newly opened medical colleges in rural areas like Handwara and Doda, which are struggling to recruit skilled teachers due to their college location. Although 50 permanent and 51 temporary faculty positions have been recently filled, this is insufficient to address the increasing demand for medical education.

Further, there is a significant gap in the category of staff. Reportedly, only 275 medical officer posts and 582 non-gazatted staff vacancies are available, including administrative staff, laboratory technicians and others. 

As per the NMC guidelines, one professor and an adequate number of assistant professors are required for every 100 MBBS seats. This means medical colleges shall have a dozen of staff in order to offer courses at their college. Meanwhile, NMC states that every medical college with 150 MBBS seats shall have at least 430 beds along with laboratorites, classrooms and hostels. 

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