- The present Indian leadership is fond of mentioning the overall growth, positioning, traction, and heft the country is able to achieve in the last few years. Of course, there is no denying that India’s huge market and economic potential ensure the country is accorded due consideration on matters of geostrategic and geopolitical importance. However, it does not mean that India as a country is in a position to alter the global equations at par with some of the powerful nations in the universe. That is still a distant dream. The moot point to note here is that there are several prickly issues within the country requiring attention and immediate addressal. Most importantly, reformist and regulatory measures are yet to kick off in some of the crucial verticals.
PC: Freepik
- Mind you, none of the countries can boast of picture-perfect administration but invariably will have to encounter thorny sides often. What matters is how best the administration attempts to redress such issues with well-rounded measures leaving very little room for litigations. We know how every level of the judiciary is burdened with millions of litigations desperately crying for a conclusion. Against this backdrop, the Chief Justice of India’s observation that governments must take note of the increased litigation on medical education signals the need for reforms here. Of late, courts are inundated with a bewildering number of cases on exams or the allocation of seats in government and medical colleges, or disputes in admission and marking of quotas.
- Or for that matter, pleas from petulant private colleges. Many recent cases being dealt with what in a well-oiled machinery would be a simple administrative matter – like dates of exams for MBBS doctors to pursue a specialization, the NEET-PG. Undoubtedly, the pandemic threw the schedule into chaos as the 2020 exam had to be postponed. But it should not need another three years for the roster to right itself. That students have repeatedly had to move court is reflective of the poor administration at the National Board of Exams that conducts the test to fill 40,000 seats in over 6,000 government and private universities, as well as poor communication with central and state medical colleges. The matter doesn’t stop here.
PC: Freepik
- Failure of the medical education system to accommodate students from warzone Ukraine highlighted its rigidity forcing the students to move courts. Remember, court involvement does not always end with greater public good either. For instance, an SC panel inspection in 2019 found a medical college the NMC had cleared, unfit to train doctors and using fictitious patients. The fallout was the NMC stopped making public its assessment reports. It’s a vortex out there with courts being moved by private colleges adding to the caseload burden manifold. Thus, it makes sense for the NMC to come out with comprehensive reforms and regulatory measures to address these glaring anomalies without involving the courts.
