NMC fixes cap for undergrad seats in medical colleges set up from 2024-25

Medical colleges established from 2024-25 academic session onwards shall have a maximum of 150 undergraduate seats provided the institute follows the ratio of 100 MBBS seats for 10 lakh population in that state.

Colleges seeking increased number of seats cannot exceed 150 MBBS students from 2024-25, the National Medical Commission (NMC) said in its newly-issued "Guidelines for Under Graduate Courses under Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses and Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023".

Any additional permitted seat quota for admissions shall be within the number of seats granted for admission to that college, the guidelines notified on August 16 stated.

With the exception that colleges who have applied for academic year 2023-24 for increased seats but failed to get the same, can ask for the same number (totalling 200 or 250) that was in their previous application for one time in the year 2024-25 only.

After 2023-24, letter of permission for starting of new medical colleges shall be issued only for annual intake capacity of 50/100/150 seats, the guidelines stated.

Every hospital seeking permission to start medical college after the publication of this amended regulation shall comprise of the medical college, the attached teaching hospital and the hostels for the students and interns, with or without the residential area for faculty and other staff of college or hospital.

The medical college, hostels for students and interns and the teaching hospital or institution shall be either in a unitary campus or maximum of two campuses, the guidelines said.

According to the guidelines, the distance between the plots of college and hospital shall have a travel time of maximum of 30 minutes. The hospital shall have at least 220 beds.

For every hospital seeking permission to start medical college, the medical college shall have rural health training centres/community health centres/urban health centres affiliated to it; according to the geographical location of the college, which shall be used for internship training.

The guidelines state that every medical institution shall have a skills laboratory where students can practice and improve skills pre-specified in the curriculum. The skills laboratory attempts to recreate the clinical environment and tasks which future health care workers have to perform with various levels of complexity and fidelity. Skills lab is only to prepare the student for clinical exposure.

It shall not replace or be used for compensating any hands-on clinical training or conducting examination.

Six weeks of skills lab training including evaluation before the students are posted to the wards for clinical training shall be mandatory.

The skills laboratory shall have a total area of at least 600 sq. m for intake up to 150 MBBS students annually and 800 sq.m for intakes of 200 and 250 MBBS students annually, the guidelines said.

The buildings of the medical college and hospital will have to conform to the prevailing building codes and local building byelaws/ norms. The hospitals should have fire-safety measures, including patient evacuation plans according to local byelaws and regulations. They must also comply with the requirements for providing access and facilities to those who are disabled.

It shall be mandatory to have at least 75 per cent attendance of the total working days (excluding vacations) for all faculty and resident doctors. During vacation period, other than sick leave or leaves availed due to emergency situations, the faculty on duty shall not be availing any leave.

The college or institution shall provide furnished accommodation for at least 75 per cent students, interns, and resident doctors.

It is desirable that hostel rooms are double accommodation facilities. Adequate recreational, dining and 24x7 security facilities shall be provided at the hostels.

However, those who do not wish to avail of the hostel facilities shall be allowed to choose their own residential facilities without the college collecting 'hostel fees', the guidelines stated.

The guidelines specified other criteria in terms of campus, library, journals, lecture theatres, laboratories, biomedical waste management, research facility, college website, departments and close circuit camera among others.