NMC brings in new regulations to expand medical education infrastructure, manpower

The Hindu

4 days ago

Following an announcement by the Central government to add 75,000 new medical seats over the next five years, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has notified the Medical Institutions (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations, 2025 aimed at widening the pool of eligible faculty, and facilitating the expansion of undergraduate (MBBS) and postgraduate (MD/MS) seats in medical colleges across India.
The new regulations have been brought in by the Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) under the NMC, the statutory body regulating medical education, professionals, institutes, and research in India.
According to the revised regulations, non-teaching government hospitals with more than 220 beds can now be designated as teaching institutions. Also, specialists with 10 years of experience can be appointed as Associate Professors; and specialists with two years of experience can be appointed as Assistant Professors without the mandatory senior residency, provided they completed the Basic Course in Biomedical Research within two years.
'These regulations mark a paradigm shift in how faculty eligibility is determined — shifting the focus from rigid service norms to competency, teaching experience, and academic merit,'' the NMC said in a statement, adding that the reform would accelerate the expansion of medical education, particularly in underserved areas.
Other changes include expanded use of M.Sc./Ph.D. faculty where, in addition to Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry, the Departments of Microbiology and Pharmacology can now appoint faculty with M.Sc./Ph.D. qualifications.
The upper age limit for appointment as a senior resident has been increased to 50 years in preclinical and paraclinical subjects, including Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry, besides expanding the eligibility for super-specialties, allowing utilisation of existing faculty across departments.
The new set of regulations also states that senior consultants with three years of teaching experience in government medical institutions recognised by the National Board of Examinations and Medical Sciences (NBEMS) are eligible for the post of Professor; and diploma holders working as specialists or medical officers in the respective departments of a government medical institution, or a government medical institution running a teaching programme recognised by the NBEMS and having cumulative experience of six years, shall be eligible for the post of Assistant Professor, etc.
Allowing internal cadre mobility, the NMC regulations note that faculty with super-specialty qualifications currently working in broad specialty departments can be formally designated as faculty in their corresponding super-specialty departments.
Medical doctors have called the new set of regulations an attempt to dilute the quality of teaching.
'The NMC is reducing pre-conditions for being teachers with an aim of creating more colleges and students, but this measure is missing out the fact that rigorous teaching standards must be maintained to ensure good patient care,'' a senior doctor in a Central government facility said.
Welcoming the move, the National M.Sc. Medical Teachers' Association (NMMTA) noted that through the Medical Institutions (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations, 2025 dated June 30, and the Amendment Notification dated July 2, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had restored the permissible 30% appointment limit for teachers with medical M.Sc./Ph.D. qualifications in the five non-clinical subjects — Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Microbiology.
'This correction brings a much-needed end to years of injustice that stemmed from the MSR-2020 guidelines, which had severely impacted the careers, livelihoods, and dignity of non-medical teachers while also aggravating faculty shortages in medical colleges across India,'' the NMMTA said.