NEW DELHI: Saying the Medical Council of India (MCI) had "repeatedly"
failed in its duties and the quality of medical education in the country
was at its "lowest ebb", the Supreme Court on Monday appointed a
high-powered committee headed by former CJI R M Lodha to clean up the
system by taking over the functions of MCI.
"The medical graduates lack competence in performing basic health care tasks. Instances of unethical practices continued to grow. The MCI was not able to spearhead any serious reforms in medical education. The MCI neither represented the professional excellence nor its ethos," said Justice A K Sikri, who wrote the judgment for the five-judge Constitution bench comprising justices A R Dave, R K Agrawal, A K Goel and R Banumathi. The system keeps out most meritorious and underprivileged students, the bench said.
The order signals the end of the road for MCI that has been in the midst of controversies since its president Ketan Mehta was arrested in a corruption case. The government has been actively considering scrapping MCI in its present form.
The court asked the oversight committee, also comprising retired comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai and eminent doctor Shiva Sareen, to oversee all statutory functions under the MCI Act and said policy decisions would require the panel's approval. The committee will function till the Centre puts in place a new mechanism for regulation by amending the statute or bringing a new legislation.
The court said deep-rooted corruption is prevalent in MCI and its members, coming from commercialised corporate private hospitals, were also found indulging in unethical practices such as carrying out unnecessary diagnostic tests and surgical procedures to extract money from hapless patients. It said the law needs to be amended as the Centre has no power under the present system to disagree with MCI and give policy directives to the regulatory body.
"The existing system of graduate medical education is required to be re-invented. The admission process was not satisfactory as majority of seats in private medical colleges were being allotted for capitation fee. The system keeps out most meritorious and underprivileged students," the bench said.
A day before the Supreme Court is to hear the controversy on a national eligibility test (NEET), the Constitution bench strongly batted for a common entrance test by scrapping exams conducted by private medical colleges. It said that common window test would tackle the menace of capitation fee and bring transparency in the admission process.
The court passed the order on a bunch of petitions filed by private unaided medical colleges of Madhya Pradesh challenging the validity of state legislation to bring into force Common Entrance Test (CET) for all medical institutions and regulate fee structure for medical education.
Dismissing their plea, the bench said the state government was justified to regulate education to ensure that merit could not be compromised in admissions to professional institutions nor capitation fee could be permitted. "The Constitution is primarily for the common man. Larger interest and welfare of student community to promote merit, achieve excellence and curb malpractices, fee and admissions can certainly be regulated," the bench said.
"It is to be borne in mind is that the occupation of education cannot be treated at par with other economic activities. In this field, the State cannot remain a mute spectator and has to necessarily step in in order to prevent exploitation, privatization and commercialisation by the private sector," the bench said.
timesofindia SC-clips-MCIs-wings-sets-up-ex-CJI-headed-panel-to-regulate-medical-education
May 3, 2016
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"The medical graduates lack competence in performing basic health care tasks. Instances of unethical practices continued to grow. The MCI was not able to spearhead any serious reforms in medical education. The MCI neither represented the professional excellence nor its ethos," said Justice A K Sikri, who wrote the judgment for the five-judge Constitution bench comprising justices A R Dave, R K Agrawal, A K Goel and R Banumathi. The system keeps out most meritorious and underprivileged students, the bench said.
The order signals the end of the road for MCI that has been in the midst of controversies since its president Ketan Mehta was arrested in a corruption case. The government has been actively considering scrapping MCI in its present form.
The court asked the oversight committee, also comprising retired comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai and eminent doctor Shiva Sareen, to oversee all statutory functions under the MCI Act and said policy decisions would require the panel's approval. The committee will function till the Centre puts in place a new mechanism for regulation by amending the statute or bringing a new legislation.
The court said deep-rooted corruption is prevalent in MCI and its members, coming from commercialised corporate private hospitals, were also found indulging in unethical practices such as carrying out unnecessary diagnostic tests and surgical procedures to extract money from hapless patients. It said the law needs to be amended as the Centre has no power under the present system to disagree with MCI and give policy directives to the regulatory body.
"The existing system of graduate medical education is required to be re-invented. The admission process was not satisfactory as majority of seats in private medical colleges were being allotted for capitation fee. The system keeps out most meritorious and underprivileged students," the bench said.
A day before the Supreme Court is to hear the controversy on a national eligibility test (NEET), the Constitution bench strongly batted for a common entrance test by scrapping exams conducted by private medical colleges. It said that common window test would tackle the menace of capitation fee and bring transparency in the admission process.
The court passed the order on a bunch of petitions filed by private unaided medical colleges of Madhya Pradesh challenging the validity of state legislation to bring into force Common Entrance Test (CET) for all medical institutions and regulate fee structure for medical education.
Dismissing their plea, the bench said the state government was justified to regulate education to ensure that merit could not be compromised in admissions to professional institutions nor capitation fee could be permitted. "The Constitution is primarily for the common man. Larger interest and welfare of student community to promote merit, achieve excellence and curb malpractices, fee and admissions can certainly be regulated," the bench said.
"It is to be borne in mind is that the occupation of education cannot be treated at par with other economic activities. In this field, the State cannot remain a mute spectator and has to necessarily step in in order to prevent exploitation, privatization and commercialisation by the private sector," the bench said.
timesofindia SC-clips-MCIs-wings-sets-up-ex-CJI-headed-panel-to-regulate-medical-education
May 3, 2016
Endorsing a
Parliamentary Standing Committee report of March 2016 that medical
education and profession in the country is at its 'lowest ebb' and
suffering from 'total system failure' due to corruption and decay, the
Supreme Court has used its rare and extraordinary powers under the
Constitution to set up a three-member committee, headed by a former
Chief Justice of India, to oversee the functioning of the Medical
Council of India (MCI) for at least a year.
A Constitution Bench, led by a Justice in a 165-page judgment, said that
the apex court was constrained to exercise its extraordinary powers
under Article 142 of the Constitution as the government had not acted on
the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family
Welfare.
Its report on 'The functioning of the Medical Council of India, was
tabled in Parliament on March 8, 2016.
The judgment referred to the parliamentary panel report, which described
the MCI as an 'ossified and opaque body' unable to cope with the
'humongous' task of managing medical education in over 400 colleges
across the country.
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Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
Endorsing a
Parliamentary Standing Committee report of March 2016 that medical
education and profession in the country is at its 'lowest ebb' and
suffering from 'total system failure' due to corruption and decay, the
Supreme Court has used its rare and extraordinary powers under the
Constitution to set up a three-member committee, headed by a former
Chief Justice of India, to oversee the functioning of the Medical
Council of India (MCI) for at least a year.
A Constitution Bench, led by a Justice in a 165-page judgment, said that
the apex court was constrained to exercise its extraordinary powers
under Article 142 of the Constitution as the government had not acted on
the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family
Welfare.
Its report on 'The functioning of the Medical Council of India, was
tabled in Parliament on March 8, 2016.
The judgment referred to the parliamentary panel report, which described
the MCI as an 'ossified and opaque body' unable to cope with the
'humongous' task of managing medical education in over 400 colleges
across the country.
Unethical practices up
Read more at: https://www.docplexus.in/#/app/posts/800d3a22-1064-4fbb-8055-fa76dd5bcacc?utm_term=Email-Digest-0-morn&utm_campaign=Email-Digest&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Docplexus.in&utm_content=CTA
Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
Endorsing a
Parliamentary Standing Committee report of March 2016 that medical
education and profession in the country is at its 'lowest ebb' and
suffering from 'total system failure' due to corruption and decay, the
Supreme Court has used its rare and extraordinary powers under the
Constitution to set up a three-member committee, headed by a former
Chief Justice of India, to oversee the functioning of the Medical
Council of India (MCI) for at least a year.
A Constitution Bench, led by a Justice in a 165-page judgment, said that
the apex court was constrained to exercise its extraordinary powers
under Article 142 of the Constitution as the government had not acted on
the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family
Welfare.
Its report on 'The functioning of the Medical Council of India, was
tabled in Parliament on March 8, 2016.
The judgment referred to the parliamentary panel report, which described
the MCI as an 'ossified and opaque body' unable to cope with the
'humongous' task of managing medical education in over 400 colleges
across the country.
Unethical practices upRead more at: https://www.docplexus.in/#/app/posts/800d3a22-1064-4fbb-8055-fa76dd5bcacc?utm_term=Email-Digest-0-morn&utm_campaign=Email-Digest&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Docplexus.in&utm_content=CTA
Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
Read more at: https://www.docplexus.in/#/app/posts/800d3a22-1064-4fbb-8055-fa76dd5bcacc?utm_term=Email-Digest-0-morn&utm_campaign=Email-Digest&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Docplexus.in&utm_content=CTA
Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
Endorsing a
Parliamentary Standing Committee report of March 2016 that medical
education and profession in the country is at its 'lowest ebb' and
suffering from 'total system failure' due to corruption and decay, the
Supreme Court has used its rare and extraordinary powers under the
Constitution to set up a three-member committee, headed by a former
Chief Justice of India, to oversee the functioning of the Medical
Council of India (MCI) for at least a year.
A Constitution Bench, led by a Justice in a 165-page judgment, said that
the apex court was constrained to exercise its extraordinary powers
under Article 142 of the Constitution as the government had not acted on
the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family
Welfare.
Its report on 'The functioning of the Medical Council of India, was
tabled in Parliament on March 8, 2016.
The judgment referred to the parliamentary panel report, which described
the MCI as an 'ossified and opaque body' unable to cope with the
'humongous' task of managing medical education in over 400 colleges
across the country.
Unethical practices up
"Quality of medical education is at its lowest ebb, the right type of
health professionals were not able to meet the basic health needs of the
country. Products coming out of medical colleges are ill-prepared to
serve in poor resource settings like Primary Health Centres. Graduates
lacked competence in performing basic health care tasks. Unethical
practices continued to grow. The MCI was not able to spearhead any
serious reforms in medical education" the judgment said, citing the
panel report.
'The MCI neither represented the professional excellence nor its ethos
under the MCI Act' said a Justice who authored the judgment for the
Bench, referring to the Parliamentary panel report.
Besides Justice (retired) Lodha, the committee has Professor who is the
Director of Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences and a former
Comptroller & Auditor General of India.
The Supreme Court said the Justice Lodha committee "will have the
authority to oversee all statutory functions under the MCI Act. All
policy decisions of the MCI will require approval of the Oversight
Committee. The Committee will be free to issue appropriate remedial
directions. The Committee will function till the Central Government puts
in place any other appropriate mechanism after due consideration of the
Expert Committee Report." The court referred to how the Centre had set
up the Dr. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury expert panel in July 2014 to study the
Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and make recommendations.
No action taken
Though the committee did submit its report in September the same year,
no action was taken on the reforms suggested by it, including overseeing
undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.
Unethical practices
Medical professionals indulge in unethical practices conducting
unnecessary diagnostics tests and surgical procedures in order to
extract money from hapless patients, the judgment said.
"The challenges facing medical education of the 21st Century are truly
gigantic... Game changer reforms of transformational nature are
therefore the need of the hour and they need to be carried out urgently
and immediately" it said.
Read more at: https://www.docplexus.in/#/app/posts/800d3a22-1064-4fbb-8055-fa76dd5bcacc?utm_term=Email-Digest-0-morn&utm_campaign=Email-Digest&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Docplexus.in&utm_content=CTA
Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
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Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
Endorsing a
Parliamentary Standing Committee report of March 2016 that medical
education and profession in the country is at its 'lowest ebb' and
suffering from 'total system failure' due to corruption and decay, the
Supreme Court has used its rare and extraordinary powers under the
Constitution to set up a three-member committee, headed by a former
Chief Justice of India, to oversee the functioning of the Medical
Council of India (MCI) for at least a year.
A Constitution Bench, led by a Justice in a 165-page judgment, said that
the apex court was constrained to exercise its extraordinary powers
under Article 142 of the Constitution as the government had not acted on
the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family
Welfare.
Its report on 'The functioning of the Medical Council of India, was
tabled in Parliament on March 8, 2016.
The judgment referred to the parliamentary panel report, which described
the MCI as an 'ossified and opaque body' unable to cope with the
'humongous' task of managing medical education in over 400 colleges
across the country.
Unethical practices up
"Quality of medical education is at its lowest ebb, the right type of
health professionals were not able to meet the basic health needs of the
country. Products coming out of medical colleges are ill-prepared to
serve in poor resource settings like Primary Health Centres. Graduates
lacked competence in performing basic health care tasks. Unethical
practices continued to grow. The MCI was not able to spearhead any
serious reforms in medical education" the judgment said, citing the
panel report.
'The MCI neither represented the professional excellence nor its ethos
under the MCI Act' said a Justice who authored the judgment for the
Bench, referring to the Parliamentary panel report.
Besides Justice (retired) Lodha, the committee has Professor who is the
Director of Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences and a former
Comptroller & Auditor General of India.
The Supreme Court said the Justice Lodha committee "will have the
authority to oversee all statutory functions under the MCI Act. All
policy decisions of the MCI will require approval of the Oversight
Committee. The Committee will be free to issue appropriate remedial
directions. The Committee will function till the Central Government puts
in place any other appropriate mechanism after due consideration of the
Expert Committee Report." The court referred to how the Centre had set
up the Dr. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury expert panel in July 2014 to study the
Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and make recommendations.
No action taken
Though the committee did submit its report in September the same year,
no action was taken on the reforms suggested by it, including overseeing
undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.
Unethical practices
Medical professionals indulge in unethical practices conducting
unnecessary diagnostics tests and surgical procedures in order to
extract money from hapless patients, the judgment said.
"The challenges facing medical education of the 21st Century are truly
gigantic... Game changer reforms of transformational nature are
therefore the need of the hour and they need to be carried out urgently
and immediately" it said.
Read more at: https://www.docplexus.in/#/app/posts/800d3a22-1064-4fbb-8055-fa76dd5bcacc?utm_term=Email-Digest-0-morn&utm_campaign=Email-Digest&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Docplexus.in&utm_content=CTA
Copyright 2016 © Docplexus
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