The National Medical Commission (NMC) has showcaused several medical colleges in Bengal after it found out that faculty members have been “irregular” in the colleges, and the teaching hospitals were grappling with a shortage of faculty, said state health department officials.
The NMC, which regulates medical education in the country, has made it mandatory for all medical colleges across India to implement a biometric attendance system.
There are 36 medical colleges in Bengal, out of which 24 are run by the state government.
According to health department sources, most of the colleges were issued show-cause notices.
The commission also found the hospitals lacking in other parameters, like faculty strength.
Officials of medical colleges said many faculty members have refused to adhere to biometric attendance.
The NMC held a virtual meeting with the medical colleges earlier this month where the colleges were told about the lapses.
The letters started arriving soon after.
“Many faculty members refuse to go with biometric attendance. This is a ploy to go unaccounted,” said a city medical college official.
“If someone does not adhere to biometric attendance, then there is no other way to verify their attendance. Some of them are adults and very senior people. It becomes difficult to scold them or haul them in by the administration. In many cases, administrators happen to be juniors in age as well as service,” said the official of a medical college in Calcutta.
An official said, barring a few, all medical colleges in the state have received show-cause notices.
“Such show-cause notices are not new. NMC sometimes imposes a hefty penalty. The colleges are given a chance to pitch their version. In many instances, the NMC reduces the fine amount after hearing the colleges,” said the official of a medical college.
The vice-principal of a medical college said biometric attendance was started in colleges nearly two years ago.
Earlier, it was thumb impression-based biometric attendance, but the NMC has now made face recognition mandatory for attendance.
“There is a mobile application that the faculty members have to download on their phones. There are five-six biometric points in every college. A faculty member can mark attendance by opening the app within 100 metres of one of those points where the biometric is present,” said the vice-principal.
“The government has to recruit more faculty members. The recruitment has been stalled because of a pending court case on OBC reservations,” said a health department official.