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The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
AECS Maaruti dental college in Bengaluru closed
Even before the end of the academic year, the Dental Council of India (DCI) and the Department of Dental Sciences of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have ordered closure of AECS Maaruti College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre on Bannerghatta Road in Bengaluru. Sources said that DCI closed the dental college on the request of the management. However, students enrolled in BDS and MDS courses in the college have not been shifted to other colleges. According to the sources, the management of AECS Maaruti College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre had submitted a request to the DCI to close the college due to poor enrolment, shortage of faculty, and lack of necessary infrastructure, among other reasons. In 2024-25, a total of 69 students, including 30 each in the 3rd and 4th year BDS courses, and 9 in the MDS courses, were enrolled in the college. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the DCI had issued an order on March 6, 2025 withdrawing recognition to AECS Maaruti College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, and suspended admissions for BDS and MDS courses for the year 2025-26. The DCI had informed the government of Karnataka in a letter dated April 1, 2025, and asking officials to shift the students to other dental colleges within the State. The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) decided to conduct counselling through Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA). and shift the students. The DME wrote to KEA in this regard. Counselling yet to take place However, due to lack of clarity from the DME about which colleges the students should be transferred to and confusion about the college fees, the KEA cancelled the counselling that was supposed to be held on May 16. 'I am pursuing third year BDS course. I need one-and-a-half years to complete the course. Some students are in the third and fourth year of the BDS course. When the management decided to close the college, we had expressed our opposition. We had requested that the college not be closed until our courses are completed. Now, the transfer to another college is being delayed,' a student told The Hindu. Prasanna H., Executive Director of KEA, said, 'Without discussing with us, the DME has written a letter and has fixed the counselling date for the shifting of students to other colleges. However, the CET-2025 admission process is underway. We cannot organise the counselling of AECS Maaruti dental college students in the midst of the CET-2025 admission process.' 'It is possible that some students have taken admission in AECS Maaruti dental college through KEA, and some directly through management quota. We have informed the DME that if they give consent in writing regarding which college should be allotted to which student, appropriate action will be taken,' he added. B.L. Sujatha Rathod, Director of DME, said, 'The AECS Maaruti dental college management had been saying for many years that it would close the college due to personal reasons. But it was told to complete the existing batches and then close it. However, the DCI has given permission to close the college from 2025-26. As per the DCI order, the information about the supernumerary seats available in dental colleges has been obtained and submitted to KEA to transfer students to different colleges. KEA will conduct counselling as soon as possible, and allot seats on the basis of merit.'
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
NMC serves show-cause notices on all 22 govt. medical colleges in Karnataka
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has served show-cause notices on all government medical colleges in Karnataka for failing to meet standard parameters, including infrastructure and faculty recruitment. A total of 22 government medical colleges are functioning in the State, and this is the first time that such notices have been issued to all. The Department of Medical Education (DME) has expressed surprise that even the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), which has the best infrastructure and is most sought after by students, has been given the notice. 'There is some ambiguity in the NMC show-cause notices. For example, it states that BMCRI, which has the highest number of outpatients in the State, has the Outpatient Department (OPD) numbers wrong. So, we have doubts whether they have thoroughly checked the OPD numbers,' said B.L. Sujatha Rathod, Director, Directorate of Medical Education. The NMC periodically asks all medical colleges having a valid letter of permission (LoP) for medical course admissions to submit and upload all details and documents on its portal as part of their annual declaration. Through a public notice on April 25, the commission had also asked colleges to furnish the information on minor operation theatres and major operation theatres. The notices have been issued for not appointing faculty members in medical colleges that had been started recently, mainly in Koppal, Chickballapur, Chitradurga, and Chikkamagaluru. The notice stated that the number of in-patients (surgical admissions) at the government medical college in Karwar was low. It stated that OPD numbers were not adequate in some medical colleges, teaching and non-teaching staff were deficient, and equipment was not available in others. Impact on seat enhancement The 22 government medical colleges have a total of 3,500 MBBS seats. The State government, meanwhile, has submitted a proposal to NMC for an enhancement of about 800 medical seats for 2025-26. However, in the wake of the notices, there are doubts if the proposal will be cleared. 'Most of the colleges have already replied to the NMC's show-cause notices with appropriate documents. The NMC is yet to reply regarding the enhancement of seats. However, I have made it clear that these show-cause notices will not make any impact on the enhancement of medical seats. If the replies given by the colleges to the notices are not satisfactory, the NMC can impose a penalty,' said Dr. Rathod. In 2024-25, the NMC had imposed a penalty of around ₹2 lakh to ₹15 lakh on 16 government medical colleges. Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education, said, 'All government medical colleges in the State have good infrastructure and good equipment. However, there is a shortage of faculty members in medical colleges that have been started recently. Earlier, appointments were made in all colleges as per the rules of the NMC Act, 2020. However, the problem is that the NMC has directed that appointments be made as per the 2023 Act.' He said that a proposal has already been submitted to the government for recruitment of faculty members in medical colleges, and the Finance Department has to give its approval. 'In addition, the State government has stopped all recruitment processes until the internal reservation implementation processes are completed in the State. Government medical colleges have been allowed to recruit other faculties, including senior residents, on a contract basis. Most of the colleges have completed this recruitment process and replied to NMC's notice,' the Minister added.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Face-based Aadhaar authentication for faculty attendance in medical colleges in Karnataka
With an aim of effectively preventing malpractices such as ghost faculties, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has taken steps to implement the Face-based Aadhaar authentication system (FACE AEBAS) for marking attendance of faculty in all medical colleges. The NMC has stated that to leverage the latest technology and to make the attendance process user-friendly, it has decided to fully shift to the new attendance system. In the wake of the NMC order, the Medical Education Directorate of Karnataka has taken steps to implement the FACE AEBAS in all government and private medical colleges across the State from May 1. Presently, all the medical colleges and institutions are using Aadhaar-enabled Biometric Attendance system (AEBAS) for faculty attendance. Dr. B.L. Sujatha Rathod, Director, Directorate of Medical Education, told The Hindu, 'Till now, AEBAS was used for faculty attendance in all medical colleges. However, NMC is implementing FACE AEBAS, which is more advanced and authentic. This new system will be able to prevent ghost faculty, and streamline faculty attendance. Henceforth, the NMC will directly monitor the attendance system of medical colleges faculty.' Due to various reasons, many medical colleges across India have failed to appoint faculty according to the number of students, as per the NMC norms. Colleges are allegedly running classes through ghost faculty in post-graduate medical courses like anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, forensic medicine, pharmacology, and microbiology, where the number of students is less. It is common for some ghost faculty to teach in three to four colleges. In 2024, the NMC had imposed fines ranging from ₹2 lakh to ₹16 lakh on 16 colleges in Karnataka that did not have full-fledged faculty. For smooth implementation of FACE AEBAS, colleges will have to share GPS location in case they want the convenience of marking attendance via a mobile app. Then, colleges will have to share the information to NMC through email with signature and stamp of the dean or principal of the college. All faculty will have to install the FACE AEBAS app on their mobile phones. The app will be activated on April 24. From May 1, marking of attendance — AEBAS via finger authentication device — will be discontinued, and only the FACE AEBAS will be activated.
