All medical colleges will have to start PG courses by 2020

In an attempt to increase the number of postgraduate medical seats, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has amended the admission regulations and made it mandatory for all medical colleges offering MBBS to start postgraduate courses by 2020-21.

The said MCI amendments under the bracket heading “Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2018” have been published in the Gazette on 5th April, 2018. Clause 6(1), (2) & (3) under the heading “Starting of postgraduate Medical Courses and their recognition” of the “Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000”, shall be substituted as under

An institution intending to start a post-graduate medical education course or to increase the annual intake capacity in an already ongoing course shall obtain the prior permission of the Central Government under section 10A of the Act. The prior permission granted by the Central Government for Postgraduate Degree/Postgraduate Diploma courses shall be for four and three academic years respectively Provided that it shall be incumbent upon Medical Colleges/Medical Institutions to make an application for starting of Post-graduate medical education courses within three years of grant of recognition, i.e., three years from the date of inclusion of the MBBS qualification awarded by the Medical College in the First Schedule of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Failure to make an application for starting of Postgraduate courses within the stipulated time shall entail the withdrawal of recognition of MBBS qualification.

Another important development in the amendment comes in the form of more penalties being announced for medical colleges in case of shortcomings in offering PG course and their approval. Most significantly colleges which do not get their PG courses recognized would have to pay a heavy price which ranges from the monetary penalty as high as Rs 10 lakhs to losing the PG course and/or even the institution may be debarred from making further PG applications to even reduction in MBBS seats.