In response to rising concerns from medical students, parents, and stakeholders, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued an advisory outlining a structured three-level grievance redressal mechanism to address academic, clinical training, and institutional issues faced by students.
The advisory, dated July 8, 2025, acknowledges the increasing number of complaints received by the commission. These range from excess fee charges, delays or non-payment of stipends, ragging and harassment, to issues concerning internships, health and safety, attendance, examinations, curriculum, and teaching methods.“There is an emergent need for a dedicated grievance redressal mechanism at various levels so that stakeholders have a platform for redressal of their grievances,” the commission stated in the advisory.
The NMC has proposed a three-level structure for grievance resolution:
1. Medical college/institute level
2. University level
3. Directorate of Medical Education (DME)/Health & Medical Education Department of the respective State/Union Territory (UT)
If unresolved at the college or university level, the grievance should be escalated to the state DME or Health Department. Only cases that require NMC intervention should be taken up at the commission level.
To operationalise this mechanism, the NMC has recommended that Grievance Redressal Committees be formed at all three levels. These committees must include senior-level functionaries, and institutions must display details of these committees — including the grievances received and their status — on their official websites.
Colleges and universities have also been directed to create or display a web portal address on their websites to allow students to register grievances online.
A dedicated online portal — https://nmc.org.in/ActivitiWebClient/open/initiateComplaint — has been launched by the NMC for lodging unresolved grievances. Students and stakeholders can register themselves on the portal and submit complaints for further resolution.
The advisory stressed that all stakeholders must make efforts for prompt and effective grievance resolution, ensuring that complaints are addressed at the appropriate level from which they originate.
