The quality of medical education in India has seen a worrying decline in recent years. This decline is largely due to the commercialization of education. It is also affected by inadequate infrastructure and inconsistent regulation.
Private medical colleges, which constitute a significant portion of the country’s medical institutions, often favor profit over academic excellence. This trend leads to exorbitant fees. Medical education becomes accessible only to those who can afford it. It excludes the most deserving candidates.
THE DISPARITIES
Moreover, a lack of standardized curriculum and quality control has resulted in disparities in the competency of medical graduates. While some institutions adhere to global standards, others lag, failing to equip students with adequate practical skills and knowledge. Compounding this issue is the shortage of qualified teaching faculty, with many colleges relying on undertrained or part-time instructors.
The falling standards of medical education has been a matter of grave concern for the medical fraternity in recent years. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has rightly attributed it to the shortage of teaching staff coupled with the presence of
” Ghost Faculty ” and suggested strong measures to improve the situation. But, that I feel is only the tip of the iceberg.Training of medical teachers by newer models will help them in becoming better educators/ facilitators has been largely overlooked and greater emphasis has been paid to improvement of physical infrastructure
e. g. libraries, laboratories etc.
NEED OF THE HOUR
The need of the hour is to improve the quality of medical education from the present medical teachers.
Those responsible must prioritize the interests of medical teachers. They should offer higher pay scales. They should also provide more opportunities for promotion and a better environment for higher studies and research. This ensures that financial constraints do not distract them from performing their duties effectively.
The NMC needs to give serious thought to improving the quality of medical education. They should focus on having better teachers. It is more important than concentrating on increasing the number of medical teachers and medical students.
The mushrooming of substandard medical colleges, often enabled by corruption, has further diluted the quality of education.
Inadequate emphasis on research and innovation also stifles the development of critical thinking among students.
The consequences are far-reaching: poorly trained doctors can compromise patient safety and erode public trust in the healthcare system. Addressing this decline requires stringent regulation. It also needs increased investment in public medical colleges. A greater emphasis on merit-based admissions and faculty development is necessary.
(Dr Naresh Purohit is Executive Member of the Federation of Hospital Administrators. The views and opinion expressed in this article are those of the author)