NMC’s decision to cut ceiling for non-medical teachers sparks fear of job losses

Nearly 3,000 non-medical teachers write to Health Ministry seeking a rollback of the decision.  

Nearly 3,000 non-medical teachers fear losing jobs following new guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC). The NMC has decided to reduce the posts of non-medical MSc teachers in medical colleges across the country.  

As per a report published in Business Insider, the National MSc Medical Teachers Association (NMMTA), the body that represents non-medical teachers, has appealed to the Health Ministry seeking a rollback of the decision.  Seeking to revoke the order, the association said, in a letter submitted to the ministry, that the rollback would address the faculty crisis in the institutions and help the teachers.  

In the guidelines issued by the medical education regulator in October 2020, the permissible intake of non-medical faculty had come down from 30 per cent to 15 per cent in anatomy and physiology, from 50 per cent to 15 per cent in biochemistry, and from 30 per cent to 0 per cent in microbiology and pharmacology.  

New guidelines to not affect current faculties: NMC 

The NMC has claimed that these guidelines would not have any effect on the current faculties already in job and would be applicable to new medical colleges, new appointments and colleges seeking MBBS seat enhancements. 
“The practice of involving non-doctors in medical education in non-clinical subjects is a global phenomenon. The erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) had stated that the ‘intellectual cross-fertilisation with diverse intellectual streams is vital for medical education’ with respect to the participation of non-medical MSc/PhD teachers in medical education. There is no need to divert away from this wisdom,” NAMMTA said. 

Read more: 

• Education Minister inaugurates nanotechnology, knowledge centres at IIT Guwahati 
• In a first, IITs to recruit faculty on basis of quota 
• IIT Gandhinagar invites application for paid internship, apply till Dec 5