A parliamentary committee has stressed the pressing need to increase seats in medical undergraduate and postgraduate courses. They have pointed out that the government’s plan to set up new medical colleges connected to district or referral hospitals could be a valuable solution to tackle the problem.
In its 157th report labelled Quality of Medical Education in India, presented in the Rajya Sabha, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare underscored the urgent concern regarding the availability of medical seats in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. They stressed the critical need for immediate attention to address this issue.
As per the committee’s findings, around 20 lakh students aspire to pursue medical studies annually, yet the available seats for graduation represent just 1/20th of this figure. This immense demand greatly outweighs the supply of seats. Likewise, the number of postgraduate seats available falls considerably short of meeting the demand.
The committee highlighted the urgent need to address this challenge while maintaining top-notch medical education standards. They recommended that the Union Health Ministry use the available infrastructure fully. Efficient resource utilisation caters to a significant number of students without compromising on educational quality. Alongside this, the adoption of a standardised national entrance test is crucial.
In the academic year 2024-25, an increase in MBBS seats by 50, 100, and 150 increments will be permitted. According to the committee, colleges with 200 and 250 seats satisfy the infrastructure and faculty criteria as per guidelines. Many medical colleges are already operating with 200 and 250 seats. Additionally, the committee stressed the importance of maintaining an optimal batch size of 150 for effective teaching by faculty.
The committee stated that colleges, regardless of their age, can slowly add more undergraduate seats up to 250 if they have the right infrastructure and required staff.
The committee has suggested considering ways to promote private investment in medical education. They noted that providing incentives and regulatory support to private institutions interested in establishing medical colleges could enhance seat availability and foster healthy competition and innovation in medical education.
It has been suggested that the ministry use technology like distance learning and virtual classrooms. These methods could help deal with the lack of seats, allowing more students to study medicine without putting too much pressure on existing facilities.
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