The National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced that teaching faculty members in medical colleges who finish the Basic Course in Medical Education and Training (BCMET) after the due date for their promotion should be promoted from the date of the completion of the course.
This relief came amidst concerns about the delayed availability of slots for the BCMET courses from faculty in medical colleges, Medical Dialogues reported.
Faculty members from medical colleges informed the NMC about the delayed availability of BCMET slots from the designated institutes, as well as the fact that the medical colleges did not adhere to any clear norms or seniority criteria for nomination to the limited slots for the courses.
On April 12, 2025, the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Commission wrote to the senior secretaries and secretaries of Health of all States and Union Territories and their Directorates of Medical Education (DME).
"In view of the requirement of the BCMET course for promotion, it is clarified that if a faculty member completes the BCMET course after the due date of promotion and submits the completion certificate, then he should be promoted from the due date of promotion," the NMC PG board stated, granting relief to the faculty members.
The former Medical Council of India (MCI), through the MCI Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, made it compulsory for all medical colleges to create Medical Education Units (MEUs) or departments to allow faculty members to use current education technology for teaching.
The NMC has been conducting Basic Course Workshops in Medical Education Technologies since 2009 through a few regional and nodal centres (nodal centres are upgraded regional centres) at medical colleges with the necessary infrastructure and skilled personnel to increase this activity.
