Niti Aayog panel recommends replacing MCI with National Medical Commission
NEW DELHI: A high-level panel set up by government think-tank
Niti Aayog has recommended replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a
National Medical Commission. This would end the much-criticised inspector raj, presenting a major reform of the medical education system and the profession .
The setting up of a new institution would require BJP-led NDA government to frame a new law, something which has been attempted several times in the past but no government has succeeded.
"Currently there is huge inspector raj in the whole system and the new institution will end this besides bringing in substantial improvement in quality of the medical education system," a senior government official told ET.
According to official sources in the Aayog, the biggest change under the new system would be that its members would be selected on merit by a high powered search-cum-selection panel and would not be elected, as in the past, by MCI.
"The selection process will be transparent and would ensure that the best of brains in the medical fraternity are members of the commission," the source said, requesting anonymity.
Niti Aayog panel led by its vice-chairman
Arvind Panagariya is in the process of finalising its recommendations on the structural reform of MCI and would soon submit its report to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
The commission is expected to have 20 members and would be advised by another parallel body — the Medical Advisory Council — which would have representatives of all states and two union territories. The commission would have four boards with enough autonomy to decide on the curriculum while the macro policies would be framed by the commission.
These would include under-graduate medical education board, PG medical education board, accreditation and rating board.
"The idea of setting up a new body is to simplify the norms of recruitment and make the process performance based so that the medical institutes either perform or perish," the official said.
A major initiative under this is to introduce the system of exit exams for private and government medical colleges.
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