The National Msc Medical Teachers’ Association (NMMTA) organised a protest today, Monday, August 21 at Jantar Mantar, the heart of the capital city of India. With the participation of more than 200 esteemed educators, including tutors, assistant professors, associate professors and heads of departments from non-clinical disciplines from medical colleges nationwide, they all voiced their rebellion against the Undergraduate (UG) Board of National Medical Commission (NMC) and its alleged discriminatory stances against this segment of students, educators and academicians.
Academic separatism?
The Twitter handle of the association (@NMMTA_Assn) today tweeted with the hashtag #NMCStopAcademicApartheid. The tweet reads, “It's a sad day for medical education as hundreds of educators had to leave their work and families behind to travel to Delhi from all over India and protest..”. The tweet also respectfully pleads for the government to replace the UG board with members who are “equitable” and “non-hostile”.
They deem that such an important regulatory body should not hold it against these professionals who have been granted degrees by medical professionals and are established in their fields. They refute the claim that doctors should only teach medical students and that non-clinical subjects must be taught only by doctors with MD/MS qualifications, as well. “Our PG course is similar to the MD course, we both have been taught and trained similarly, how are we ineligible?” the tweet reads.
According to Dr Sridhar Rao, former President of NMMTA, there has always been a shortage of medical teachers teaching non-clinical subjects. The reason, he states, is that very few people take up MD in non-clinical subjects and as a result of this, almost more than 2,000 seats for MD remain vacant for non-clinical subjects. “Sometimes these doctors do not prefer going to hilly areas or remote, rural areas. How are these medical institutions supposed to run then?”, he says and asserts that MSc postgraduates offer an alternative to this.
What is the tussle with the NMC?
After the Medical Council of India (MCI) was replaced by the NMC, the allowable percentage of non-medical teachers was reduced to 15% from 50% in Biochemistry, 30% in Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, and completely removed from the earlier 30% limit in Pharmacology and Microbiology.
Pertaining to the MSc teachers who have completed their research in Microbiology and Pharmacology, Prof Rao says that these teachers will never be able to switch to a different profession or take up another subject. “They are perpetually stuck in one college and with no chances at promotion as NMC has changed the norms and rendered them crippled,” he says.
The NMMTA has appealed previously, both to NMC and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, where the latter acknowledged their state and increased the reservation for MSc/PhD scholars from 15 to 30 per cent. Yet, the former president says that despite the Union Government having a final say towards matters, the NMC did not follow the norms despite submitting an affidavit to the Delhi High Court.
“They (NMC) have clearly violated the law by not absorbing the new norm,” he claims. He also alleges that the undergraduate (UG) counterpart of NMC is making guidelines to discredit their stance as the guidelines bar an MSc/PhD graduate from being the examiner. They have also adjudged that medical teachers should be trained before they join the profession and non-medical teachers (MSc/PhD graduates) do not require any such training. “We are also in the system, should we not be trained?” questions Dr Rao.
He also adds that even for the lowest non-teaching post, NMC has made PhD qualification compulsory despite UGC (University Grants Commission) not mandating PhD for the assistant professor position.
Begrudgingly he says, “We don’t exist. Our concerns don’t matter. We have lost all faith and confidence.” The scholar also said that such instability in their career has created a sense of constant fear and confusion.
According to a press release by the NMMTA, they plead for safeguarding against NMC’s harsh behaviour against the community and plead that such an academic apartheid that is unjustifiably imposed upon them should culminate as soon as possible as it is massively affecting their productivity.
The last resort that they seek is not of any reservation, but offering them the position that they deserve, respectfully.
