Non-MBBS teachers urge the Health Ministry to restore the number of positions in medical colleges

A year after nearly 6,000 non-medical teachers in medical colleges approached the Union Health Ministry, fearing a job crisis as the National Medical Commission reduced the number of posts available for their recruitment, the National MSc Medical Teachers Association (NMMTA), the body representing non-medical teachers, has approached the Health Ministry again, this time seeking a revision.

“We have sought for the Ministry to revoke the order. The step will address faculty crisis in the institutions and help the teachers,” said a letter submitted to the Ministry.

The representation highlighted that while teachers of clinical subjects in medical colleges are always doctors with MBBS and MS/MD degrees, there are others in the non-clinical subjects with medical M.Sc. or Ph.D.s who are not doctors but have undergone similar training and their designations range from tutor to professor and even head of departments.

“Last year, in the regulations released by the medical education regulator, the permissible intake of non-medical faculty had come down from 30% to 15% in anatomy and physiology, from 50% to 15% in biochemistry and from 30% to 0% in microbiology and pharmacology,” said the letter.

The Association members pointed out that the teachers’ eligibility and qualifications guidelines of the previous regulator, the Medical Council of India, allowed higher intake of non-medical teachers to teach pre and para clinical subjects.