State derecognises College of Physicians and Surgeons courses

The state government of Mumbai has derecognised all courses run by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) due to several deficiencies found by the medical education department. To compensate for the loss, the government plans to increase 800 Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats through various hospitals. The CPS courses were diploma courses and not post-graduate.

Mumbai: The state government has derecognised all courses run by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS). A gazette derecognising the courses was issued by the medical education department on Friday after medical education secretary Dr Ashwini Joshi found several lacunae.

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To compensate for the loss, the government has planned to increase 800 Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats through various hospitals. Approved by the Central government, DNB is awarded by the National Board of Examinations. HT on June 18 had reported on the medical education department appointing a committee under Lt Gen (Dr) Madhuri Kanitkar, vice-chancellor of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences to examine how seats can be increased.

The CPS was established in 1912 as an examination body and derives power to grant degrees under the Indian Medical Degrees Act, of 1916.

During an inspection by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) last year, of the 120 hospitals running CPS-affiliated courses, 74 had refused inspection, and two institutions were found to be non-operational. In the remaining 44 hospitals, MMC’s inspecting team found severe infrastructural and faculty deficiencies and violations of the National Medical Commission (NMC) minimum standard requirement.

Based on the MMC report, Joshi in January and February, wrote two letters to the Union health ministry on the state of affairs at CPS and why admissions to its courses should be stopped.

In the letters, Joshi stated 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 standalone hospitals without permission from the government.

The association of CPS-affiliated institutes then met union minister Nitin Gadkari and sought his intervention, after which Gadkari wrote a letter on March 9 to chief secretary Manukumar Srivastava, alleging that Joshi had a reputation of creating hurdles in the departments she worked in. Joshi’s office then sent a rebuttal to Srivastava, defending her stand and citing examples of Rajasthan and Gujarat that had stopped admissions to CPS courses.

On March 14, the CPS received the first show-cause notice. The CPS representatives met Joshi but were asked for further clarifications and given a second hearing date—March 24. However, the CPS moved the Bombay high court, challenging the show-cause notice, but its petition was dismissed. Meanwhile, the state medical education department kept issuing show-cause notices.

A senior officer of the medical education department said, “We had to give this order about CPS as there were many lacunae in the medical colleges that conducted the courses. There was gross mismanagement. The CPS had also approached the court and they lost. Finally, our secretary conducted an in-depth hearing and came to a final decision.”

“The courses conducted by the CPS were diploma courses and not post graduate. We have appointed a committee on how seats of DNB can be increased and this committee will submit its report soon,’’ the official added.

When contacted, Joshi refused to comment.

Among the public hospitals, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s peripheral hospital too had CPS courses. “Out of the 16 peripheral hospitals, four to five offered CPS courses, including diplomas in orthopaedics, gynaecology and obstetrics, ENT and ophthalmic medicine and surgery. We had started increasing DNB seats after the CPS admission was stopped. We plan to have more DNB seats in our hospitals,” a senior BMC health official said.