The process of setting up the National Medical Commission (NMC) is likely to be over in February, a source in the Health Ministry told news agency PTI. The NMC would replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) and take over the responsibility for development and regulation of all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions. The NMC will also regulate fees and all other charges for 50 per cent seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities.
The NMC Act had received the assent of the President on August 8, 2019.
The government had superseded the MCI in 2017 and appointed a Board of Governors (BoG) to perform its functions. "One the NMC becomes operational, the BoG will be also dissolved," an official said.
The Union Health Ministry in October finalised the names of 25 members of the NMC through a draw of lots from nominations sent by the state governments, Union territories and state medical councils. The appointment of chairperson and members of each of the four boards to be set up under the NMC Act is in the process.
The Chief of Delhi AIIMS ENT head-neck surgery department, Professor Suresh Chandra Sharma, has been appointed the chairman of NMC for a period of three years or till the age of 70 years. Rakesh Kumar Vats, the secretary general in the Board of Governors of MCI has been appointed as the secretary of the Commission for the similar term.
NMC To Have Four Boards
The four boards to be set up are the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), the Medical Assessment and Rating Board and the Ethics and Medical Registration Board.
National Exit Test (NEXT)
The NMC Act proposes a common final year MBBS exam, to be known as National Exit Test (NEXT), for admission to post-graduate medical courses and for obtaining licence to practice.
The exam would also serve as a screening test for foreign medical graduates.
Regulations to operationalise NEXT would be made in due course, keeping in mind importance of both theoretical as well as clinical skill sets required at the level of UG. There is a 3-year window before NEXT becomes operational, leaving ample scope for detailed negotiations on the contours of the exam, the ministry had said earlier.
Ranking of Medical Colleges
According to the Act, the Medical Assessment and Rating Board will assess medical colleges and develop a ranking system for them which would enable students choose their institutes in a much more informed manner. These measures will ensure a transparent admission process and also bring down admission fee, the official said.
Click here for more Education News
