The National Medical Commission's (NMC) revised MBBS curriculum has led to a row. Let's break it down into points and see what are the issues highlighted by the medical community, activists and those concerned, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
1) It does not adequately safeguard the rights of individuals with disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQ
2) Dr Satendra Singh, a prominent disability activist, said that the NMC has violated the Transgender Persons Protection Act 2019
3) NMC has suddenly removed the seven hours of disability competencies from the foundation course, which was heralded as best practice globally
4) The updated guidelines have failed to incorporate earlier suggestions to ensure the curriculum is inclusive and supports LGBTQ individuals
5) Despite submitting multiple recommendations to the NMC to incorporate best practices, the latest revisions could be much better, shared activists
6) “The 470-page document defeats the purpose and adds insult to the injury done by the queerphobic medical education system and healthcare system,” says Dr Prof (Dr) Aqsa Shaikh, Professor of Community Medicine, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
7) NMC seems to be frozen in time in pre-377 abrogation era and calling sexual acts like anal sex, oral sex as unnatural sexual offences, and adultery as crime and transvestism as a sexual fetish, says the doctor
