US gives parity status to India's medical education

The US says India's recognition system for under-graduate medical courses is at par with theirs, an achievement that could facilitate mobility of doctors from India to US.

The United States has said India's recognition system for under-graduate medical courses is at par with theirs, an achievement that could facilitate mobility of doctors from India to US.

HT Image

National Committee on Accreditation in the US, the apex body responsible for foreign accreditation, has granted parity to the recognition system in India for the courses.

"The MCI had sought parity status from the National Committee on Accreditation. It was granted last month, which means quality wise, the under-graduate courses in India are at par with the US," Dr Vedprakash Mishra, Vice-Chancellor, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences University, who was part of the MCI team to negotiate with the US agency, told reporters at the Indo-US Healthcare Summit in New Delhi.

The parity has been granted for two years. "During this period, our recognition system will be monitored by them. Then India will get permanent parity status," he said.

The parity does not give automatic passage to the US or any other country. But the standards of education will be treated at par with the US which will facilitate the students mobility to that country, Dr Hemant Patel, President, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), said.

At present, there is no accreditation system in India. The MCI has only laid down certain procedure for recognition of the courses.