The medicos continue to protest across Delhi today, July 21. Yesterday, July 20, the medical community gathered in front of the National Medical Commission (NMC) and later marched to Jantar Mantar and Rajghat. “We are now protesting at every college level,” informed Anoop Singh Gurjar, General Secretary of All India Pre and Para Clinical Medicos Association (AIPCMA).
The community is planning to organise a protest again this Sunday, July 23rd at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. "We have been unable to secure permission for the protest at Jantar Mantar; however, if not there, we will organise one at Rajghat again," says Dr Gurjar.
To recall, at the core of this protest lies the issue of non-medical postgraduates being appointed as faculties in paraclinical subjects. For the protesting doctors, this practice is deeply concerning as they firmly believe that medical educators must possess applied medical knowledge and a deep understanding of patient care.
“These non-medical teachers, often come with backgrounds in BSc, MSc, or PhDs but lacking medical education, they fail to effectively teach subjects like Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry,” explained Dr Gurjar when he spoke with EdexLive.
One student, who underwent MD training at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, shared her perspective, noting that the lack of medical background of these instructors led to a loss of interest among students, leading them to resort to online studies instead. This, in turn, resulted in the failure of classroom learning altogether.