MCI in the dock over Chinese degrees

The Medical Council of India is being dragged to court in all parts of the country, thanks to its lack of clarity on Chinese medical degrees or any foreign medical university for that matter.

The petitioners are aspiring medical students who were planning to get a medical degree from China and are now unable to do so after a court ruled in April this year upholding an MCI list of recognised universities which does not include Chinese colleges.

While in the Delhi High Court there are two petitions challenging the April ruling not to recognise Chinese medical degrees, there is another in the Allahabad High Court, and yet another in Hyderabad.

The MCI has remained silent on the virtues of Chinese medical degrees ever since they began being offered in 2002. But in April this year, the Delhi High court in a case ruled recognition be granted only to medical universities in the schedule appended to the MCI Act 1956. These did not include the Chinese.

The student community has been confused after this ruling as the MCI has kept silent on the implications.

Moreover the petitions challenging this stand of the MCI are pointing to an MCI notification of 2002 which takes cognisance of the World Health Organisation listed universities and have been demanding that the MCI reconsider its position.

The MCI stand on the issue has been almost unknown to most as it has not issued either a notification or a circular informing the public about its list of recognised universities.

"The universities in the MCI schedule alone are recognised unless the court revises the position," MCI Chairman Kesavankutty Nair told Business Standard today.

"There have been complaints against the universities in terms of quality, lack of English medium education and other basic infrastructure deficiencies," Nair said.