India's specialty medical courses lack uniform standards. Regulator plans to fix it

livemint.com:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) is planning to set up committees of experts to review the postgraduate curriculum to lift the standard of specialty courses offered in India to global levels. The apex medical education regulator’s Post-Graduate Medical Education Board will set up a Specialty Expert Committee (SEC) for each postgraduate specialty to “enhance the quality and uniformity", Dr B.

Srinivas, secretary at the NMC, said in a communication to all the medical colleges under its ambit--Mint has reviewed the letter. “These committees will be responsible for preparing a model curriculum and developing specialty specific assessment forms for assessing institutes, besides addressing other academic requirements of specialties," Dr Srinivas said. The team of experts will also hear students' grievances and address other requirements.

The NMC has sought the names of faculties across various specialties willing to contribute towards this initiative within 15 days. “India is trying to increase the medical manpower, both at graduate and postgraduate level, so that more and more specialists are available because of the skewed ratios which we have in terms of doctor-patient ratios," said Dr Aashish Chaudhry, managing director of Delhi-based Aakash Healthcare multispecialy hospital. “So this is a welcome step to have a uniformity in the quality of PG education being delivered across the country." The total number of postgraduate medical seats in India has surged about 127% since 2013-14 to 73,111 in 2024-25, according to the health ministry data.