Niti Aayog to Set Up a Commission to Replace MCI

There is a possibility that Niti Aayog will suggest setting up of National Medical Commission. This National Medical Commission will be replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI), though the decision is still pending and will be discussed in the next parliamentary meeting.

According to a senior official at Niti Aayog, MCI’s design was made in such a manner that it could not prove itself as a regulator and will lead to the downfall of the entire medical education system.

Moreover, removing MCI would also lead to the elimination of the “inspector raj” which will also help in increasing the number of medical colleges.

Also Read: NITI Aayog in Favour of Scrapping MCI

It has been estimated that the newly proposed National Medical Commission will consist of 19-20 members belonging to medical as well as non-medical backgrounds.

Also, there will be four separate autonomous boards which will make decisions for the following sectors of education:

• Undergraduate education,
• Postgraduate education
• Accreditation of colleges
• Medical ethics related matters

Furthermore, a final report regarding this newly brought change in the medical education system will be prepared by a committee headed by Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya and will be submitted to the government soon.

Some of the problems with the current Medical Council of India were raised by a Parliamentary Standing Committee in March which accused that MCI is neither representing any sort of professional excellence and nor its ethos, also that the council was designed in an opaque and biased manner which was against the larger public health goals in India. Moreover, according to the report, the government also had virtually no power to disagree with the decisions of MCI.

Also Read: Niti Ayog to Change the Face of Higher Education in 3 Months

When the Supreme Court came in terms with the report by the standing committee in the month of May, it was found out that both education and profession in the field of medical was at its lowest level and all the corruption and decay was causing the entire system to fail.

After this, a three-member committee was formed by the Supreme Court to keep an eye on the working of the MCI for at least 1 year. This committee was headed by the former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha.

Apart from this, the Niti Aayog was also assigned the task to look into the working of other education systems as well such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Also Read:Medical Council of India: A Bane for Medical Aspirants

Currently, the status of the newly proposed National Medical Commission is that a discussion will be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Niti Aayog on Thursday on the progress made by Aayog to prepare a 15-year vision document beginning 2017-18 fiscal. This vision document is made to replace the five-year planning system which has been followed for over six decades.