Lok Sabha passes bill to reform medical education sector

New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on July 22, has been passed in the Lower House on Monday. Once the NMC Bill would get passed by the Rajya Sabha, it would replace the 63-year-old Medical Council of India (MCI) with the commission to reform the medical education sector.

While moving the bill for consideration in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, "Genuine concerns over the NMC Bill have been addressed and the legislation will be one of the biggest reforms."

The NMC Bill also seeks to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act 1956, stating that the council that was set up was corrupt. It has been alleged that the process by which the MCI regulated medical colleges was flawed. Hailing the bill, Vardhan said, "It seeks to put in place a new structure to tackle challenges in the medical education sector. It would bring not only government seats but also 50 per cent of all private seats within the reach of meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections."

"The Bill is not anti-federal as the states will give the medical-essentiality certificates, not the Centre. The state governments will be fully involved with the running of the councils, not the Centre," Vardhan said.

"The NMC Bill is anti-vested interests. It will help us move away from inspection-raj. It will select one-time and full-time regulators," the minister said. The Health Minister has also sought to assure that genuine concerns of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have been addressed. "When history will be written... it (bill) will go down as one of the biggest reforms," he noted.

Vardhan also thanked the House for participating in the debate on the NMC Bill Commission. In total 32 members participated in the discussion. "Basic intention of the government through this Bill is to ensure the utmost standards of medical education. Nobody should have any apprehensions about the intention," Vardhan assures the House.

Participating in the discussion, Congress member Vincent Pala, who opposed the bill, criticised the proposal to "replace elected members with nominated members" on the Medical Council Board. Pala also asked how the integrity of members of the board would be decided. "The new bill lacks vision and lacks structural integrity. You are replacing elected members with nominated members," he said.

Coming down heavily on the bill, DMK leader A Raja termed it as "anti-poor, anti-social justice, undemocratic and anti-federalism". He said that the bill is a "joke" on the people of the country as it would encourage corruption and nepotism in the medical profession.

Participating in the discussion, Trinamool Congress member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the bill was against the basic principle of federalism and unacceptable as it would jeopardise the future of students. The TMC MP also slammed the move to conduct "exit examination" for medical students, saying it would put undue pressure on students. "This is unwarranted and a shame," she said. Among others, the bill has the provision for making national standards in medical education uniform by proposing that the final year MBBS exam be treated as an entrance test for PG and a screening test for students who graduate in medicine from foreign countries.