New Delhi, May 5: Certain amendments the government proposes to bring to the Indian Medical Council Act could face stiff opposition as many doctors believe the move is an excuse for politicians and bureaucrats to wrest control of a professional body.
Doctors have approached the Left parties and CPI leaders are expected to meet health minister Anbumani Ramadoss before the amendments are introduced in Parliament.
The council’s main function is to maintain a uniform standard of medical education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels throughout the country.
It is also the apex body for registration of doctors and has a regulatory role in ensuring standards of medical ethics and professional competence. The council carries out periodic inspections of medical colleges and has the power to de-recognise those not up to the mark.
However, lack of adequate seats in government institutions have led to proliferation of private colleges where huge capitation fees have to be paid. Many of these schools are not functioning as they should.
The health ministry believes the time has come for the 1956 act to be amended to deal with changing circumstances. However, underlying the move is the government’s belief that an ?entrenched mafia? is in control of the council.
The health ministry wants the authority to ensure that the council does not revolve around the vested interests of a few individuals.
In the council’s office in Delhi, no one was willing to comment on the amendments proposed, saying they have not yet seen the clauses.
However, members of the Indian Medical Association spoke their mind freely.
?I can say with authority that the MCI is the most dynamic autonomous authority we have today. All over the world medical education is overseen by such councils. Why the government wants to amend the act and dilute the professional body is a mystery,? said Sanjiv Malik, a member of the association.
What has angered several members is the proposal to curb the terms of the president and vice-president to two tenures.
