Following the suspension of recognition of several medical colleges by the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Superintendent of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Dr. Abhijit Sarma has clarified on the matter saying that the team from the commission conducted the inspection of the college on a national holiday.
Dr. Sarma said, “NMC team visited our medical college for inspection on January 23, 2023, which is a national holiday and the college was also having a winter break. At least, 50 percent of our staff was on vacation during that time.”
According to the general instructions as informed by Dr. Sarma, the NMC can carry out an assessment after due consideration of State or National holidays and not during the holidays.
Dr. Sarma further said, “We received compliances on a few subjects that were immediately addressed by the authorities and fulfilled those lapses and submitted the report to the commission. We are waiting for their response. I feel the term ‘suspended’ would be wrong as there were some discrepancies regarding the sending of the dates for inspection because they sent their team during the holidays which according to general instructions is not permitted.”
It may be noted that NMC canceled the recognition of 40 medical colleges across the nation, including Assam Medical College, Gauhati Medical College, and FAAMC in Barpeta. This decision came after these institutions were found to be non-compliant with the standards set by the NMC during recent inspections.
According to official sources, these medical colleges were found to have several lapses related to the installation and functioning of CCTV cameras, Aadhaar-linked biometric attendance procedures, and faculty rolls. Additionally, vacant positions in the faculties were also identified during the inspections conducted by the Commission.
