PM backs health ministry on keeping medical education

NEW DELHI - The health ministry has the backing of the prime minister on a row with the human resource development ministry (HRD) over control of medical education in the country following the dissolution of the Medical Council of India (MCI), sources say.

“The PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) has indicated that medical education may not come under NCHER (National Council for Higher Education and Research),” a health ministry official told IANS Monday.

The National Council for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) comes under the human resource development ministry.

The official said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may back creation of National Council for Human Resource in Health (NCHRH) as demanded by the health ministry.

“National Council for Human Resource in Health (NCHRH) is an option,” he said.

The HRD ministry had pitched for inclusion of medical education in the preview of the NCHER after the MCI, which regulated medical education, was dissolved May 15.

MCI president Ketan Desai was arrested on charges of taking bribe to give recognition to a medical college in Punjab though it did no conform to the MCI norms.

The health ministry, however, showed strong resistance to the idea, demanding the creation of a separate governing body for medical education.

“It is not advisable to exclude medical education from the health ministry. We have forwarded our concerns and our demand for the NCHRH to the prime minister,” the official said.

The HRD ministry, however, maintains that inclusion of medical education will only ensure transparency.

“The NCHER is important for ensuring transparency and to de-politicise education,” an HRD ministry official said.