The MSc Medical Association of India filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court last Saturday, February 17, challenging the alleged discrimination faced by non-MBBS teaching staff and students in medical colleges due to the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) guidelines.
The association revealed this development on their official X account.
“The association took a significant step on this day February 17, 2024 by filing Writ Petition with the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India against NMC's biased, unscientific, illogical and discriminatory regulations against MSc Medicine Medical Teachers seeking #
For over two years, non-medical professors in medical colleges allege that the Undergraduate Board of the NMC has discriminated against them. All this began when the NMC reduced the allowable percentage of non-medical teaching staff across these fields, they add.
They claim that students, teachers, and academics in Medical MSc fields like Anatomy, Physiotherapy, Microbiology and others, are being suspended from their positions and treated in an inferior manner in favour of MD holders.
Despite staging protests and sending notice to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, they say that the discrimination has not ended.
However, in a relief to these teachers, a Parliamentary Standing Committee Report published on February 9, titled “One Hundred Fifty Seventh Report on Quality of Medical Education in India”, suggests a balanced approach that “accommodates the interests and expertise of non-MBBS candidates”.
Further, the report also suggested that the Health Ministry could provide opportunities for MSc/PhD scholars to upskill, along with enhancing their curriculum, to stay relevant to the “need of the paucity of the MBBS faculties for the non-clinical and non-para-clinical subjects”.