Guwahati, June 15: The Assam health department has allayed the threat of three medical colleges in the state, including two of the oldest and prestigious institutions, getting derecognised by the National Medical Commission (NMC), stating that “all issues have been resolved and that the institutions are adhering to the guidelines prescribed by NMC.”
Last month, there were apprehensions with media reports claiming that more than 40 medical colleges across the country have been derecognised, while 100 more colleges in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Puducherry, Punjab and West Bengal may face similar action if they do not adhere to the guidelines prescribed by the NMC.
The medical colleges in Assam, according to the reports, include two of the oldest government medical institutions in the state — the Gauhati Medical College (GMC) and the Assam Medical College (AMC), Dibrugarh – along with the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College, Barpeta.
Assam Medical College (AMC), founded in 1900 as Berry White Medical School in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh, and renamed as AMC in November 1947, is the first medical college of Northeast India and has a legacy of its own. Likewise, Gauhati Medical College, which started functioning from September 1960, is another esteemed college in the region.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on Thursday, Assam director of medical education, Anup Kumar Barman said that the NMC had asked for a compliance report as it could not centrally monitor the footage of the closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) installed in these colleges/hospitals owing to poor internet connectivity and technical glitches.
Reportedly, the NMC had pointed out that it did not receive the CCTV footage to monitor the state of affairs in the medical colleges and hospitals.
“However, the matter has been resolved now as we have ensured that the CCTV cameras installed in the three institutions remain functional round the clock for central monitoring at the locations mentioned by the NMC in accordance with its guidelines,” Barman said.
The NMC had also detected certain discrepancies in the Aadhaar-linked biometric attendance of the faculty members.
“Likewise, owing to technical glitch only, the biometric attendance of some of the faculty members of the medical colleges could not be updated in the system accessed by NMC. The principals of the medical colleges concerned have been instructed to rectify the technical glitches,” Barman said, adding that the compliance reports of GMC and AMC have already been sent to NMC.
Earlier this month, senior officials of the state health department had said that the NMC has made it mandatory for medical colleges and hospitals (attached to the colleges) to install requisite CCTV cameras so that the Commission could keep round-the-clock vigil on their functioning.
Notably, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had directed the principals of the medical colleges to resolve the issue of “defunct CCTV cameras”. “The NMC was not happy with the defunct CCTV cameras in the medical colleges and I had told the principals to resolve the issue,” the chief minister said.
Assam health and family welfare minister Keshab Mahanta said that the remedial measures have been taken to ensure that the NMC rules were complied with.
Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) superintendent Abhijit Sarma also asserted that the GMCH has addressed the compliance issues flagged by the NMC, promptly submitting the necessary corrections and documentation to rectify the situation.
The inspection process conducted by the NMC primarily focuses on evaluating teaching faculties, including their publications, attendance records, and adherence to regulatory requirements.
Authorities in Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, had earlier this month, informed the media that there was no threat of derecognition by NMC as the medical college had fulfilled all criteria established by the commission.
Addressing mediapersons in Dibrugarh, AMC principal Sanjeeb Kakati had informed about a five-member AMC team visiting the college for a two-day inspection in August last year.
According to Kakati, the team had found everything, including the Aadhaar-based biometric system and installation of the prescribed CCTV cameras in classrooms, satisfactory.
“However there was a shortage of two assistant professors in the ENT department at that time as they were recently transferred and the two replacements had not joined till then,” the AMC principal said.