E-Paper
CPS’ 3 diploma courses should be withdrawn, says Medical Council
PGMEB recommends that the three diploma courses: diploma in pathology and bacteriology, diploma in child health and diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics, for which equivalence has been given by the ministry of health and family welfare by a letter dated April 30, 2021, should be withdrawn from next year
MUMBAI: The College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS), which is facing the heat from the department of medical education over its non-compliance of conditions for its post-graduate courses, has got a shocker from the post-graduation medical education board (PGMEB) of the National Medical Council: the PGMEB has recommended to the Union ministry of health and welfare that three of CPS’s diploma courses be withdrawn. The CPS is an autonomous examination body that was established in 1912 and grants degrees under the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916.
In a letter dated April 13 to Sunil Kumar Gupta, undersecretary in the ministry, Rita Singh, undersecretary, PGMEB, says, ‘PGMEB recommends that the three diploma courses: diploma in pathology and bacteriology, diploma in child health and diploma in gynaecology and obstetrics, for which equivalence has been given by the ministry of health and family welfare by a letter dated April 30, 2021, should be withdrawn from next year.” The subject line of the letter is: Clarification regarding recognition of Diploma courses offered by the College of Physicians.
The letter also states: ‘It is informed that the matter was discussed in the Post-Graduate Medical Board meeting held on April 12, 2023, wherein it was decided that the courses run by CPS, Mumbai, do not come under the monitoring control of the National Medical Commission. Therefore, PGMEB does not agree to providing equivalence to courses of 466 students recognised by the ministry of health and family welfare by a letter on October 18, 2022.’
Dr Girish Maindarkar, president, CPS, insisted that the circular was not a derecognition letter. “It is a recommendation by the NMC to the government,” he said. “Students should not unnecessarily get panicky.” Dr Maindarkar said they were now waiting for the medical education department’s order to give them a date to meet.
In the line of fire for several years now for the anomalies in its courses, the CPS received its fourth showcase notice from the state medical education department in April. The notice sought to know why the CPS should be allowed to take students for post-graduate courses after an inspection by the Maharashtra Medical Council last year found that two of its affiliated institutions were shut while there were anomalies in 45 institutions and 73 institutions had refused inspection. The CPS approached the Bombay high court challenging the show-cause notice but its petition was dismissed.
State medical education secretary Ashwini Joshi has written two letters this year to the Union health secretary on the several anomalies in the colleges where courses run by the CPS are held. The first letter was sent on January 23 and a reminder was sent three weeks ago. In the letter, Joshi has said that there are 1,028 seats offered by the CPS in the state. Apart from government and private medical colleges, these courses are also being run in the stand-alone hospitals without permission from the government.
