The National Medical Commission (NMC) has relaxed certain norms for teachers' eligibility in medical colleges.

In its recent draft, Teachers Eligibility Qualifications (TEQ) in Medical Institutions Regulations, it has proposed that non-teaching consultants, specialists, and medical officers with a postgraduate medical degree and at least four years of experience in a minimum 220- bedded teaching or non-teaching government hospital can become assistant and associate professors, as reported by PTI.

The NMC has placed the draft regulations in the public domain and invited comments and feedback from stakeholders.

"A non-teaching consultant/specialist/medical officer, possessing postgraduate medical degree, working for at least four years in a minimum 220 bedded teaching/non-teaching government hospital shall be eligible to become an Assistant Professor of that broad specialty. They should have completed the Basic Course in Biomedical Research (BCBR) prior to becoming eligible for such a post," the draft regulations said, as reported by PTI.

The draft regulations further state that diploma holders appointed as senior residents before June 8, 2017, and who have been continuously working as senior residents in the same institute, will be eligible for the post of Assistant Professor.

Additionally, a consultant recognized as a PG teacher under NBEMS criteria, who is working or has worked as a PG teacher in a government medical institution running a National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS)-recognised PG training programme, will be eligible to become a professor in an NMC-recognised medical college in their speciality upon completing three years of experience as a PG teacher.

The draft regulation also states that in a medical college, having five years of teaching experience in the respective speciality as an assistant professor and above shall be recognised as a postgraduate guide in that speciality.

Faculty members in medical colleges with at least three years of teaching experience as assistant professors or higher in their speciality will qualify as postgraduate guides in that superspeciality. The draft regulations retain the provision allowing MSc and PhD holders to teach medical students anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology during a transitional period.