New Delhi: The National Medical Commission has said its decision to withdraw the 2023 Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations will not dilute the prescribed standards of medical education, and is intended to remove overlapping procedures.
The commission had de-notified the regulations on October 14. It is the statutory body for medical education in the country.
Under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Education Boards prescribe academic standards, minimum requirements and educational norms. The commission said the old regulations had created a parallel system of institutional evaluation, annual renewal and enforcement, leading to overlapping functions, and that it had decided to remove the duplication after judicial observations and a review of the statutory framework.
The requirement of annual disclosure reports remains mandatory, the commission said, with colleges continuing to submit information on faculty, infrastructure, clinical facilities and patient load. These disclosures, it said, remain open to scrutiny through the assessment and inspection mechanisms of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board.
MARB retains its authority to conduct assessments and inspections, including without prior notice, and to act against non-compliant institutions. Actions already taken under the old regulations remain protected.
The only procedural change, the commission said, is the removal of the additional annual renewal requirement. Simplifying regulation, it added, should not be mistaken for relaxing it. Colleges must still meet all minimum requirements on faculty, infrastructure, clinical facilities, teaching arrangements, attendance and academic standards, none of which have changed, the commission said. It described the decision as one meant to make regulation more transparent and effective, and stressed that its authority to act against deficient institutions remains intact. Annual disclosure reports, it added, continue as before.