National Medical Commission discontinues courses run by CPS

Staff Reporter :

The Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of National Medical Mission (NMC) has decided to discontinue all the courses running under the umbrella of College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS), Mumbai with immediate effect.
The NMC notification issued, signed by Prof Dr B Srinivas, NMC Secretary, addressed the Directors/ Principals/ Deans and HoDs at all medical colleges/ institutions under NMC, to follow the public notice on the ‘Discontinuation of all the courses running under the umbrella of College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS), Mumbai’. It also bears the signature of Aujender Singh, Director of PGMEB.

It has clearly said that all the stakeholders including medical institutions, hospitals running the CPS courses and students who are in the process of taking admissions to the courses run by CPS should take note of the decision of the PGMEB, NMC as their additional qualifications will not be recognised for registration if any admission takes place after issuance of this public notice.
PGMEB had served a show cause notice on the CPS, Mumbai for not following the regulatory provisions of the NMC/erstwhile Medical Council of India. In its reply, CPS, Mumbai intimated that it considers itself as an examination body like National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) with authority to give medical qualification. The Board found this as a misguiding statement and observed that the NBEMS is a Government organisation included in the schedule of NMC Act 2019. The CPS is a Non-Government Organisation (examination body) and has no authority to permit or recognise any course of qualification run by any hospital or to conduct examination or award degree.

The letter further says, as per Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956, the right of conferring or granting degrees can be done by a university established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provintial Act or a State Act or an institution deemed to be an act of parliament to confer or grant degrees. Thus, degrees can only be issued by a university or any statutory body empowered by an Act of Parliament.
Welcoming the action by NMC, Dr Shivkumar Utture, present National Vice
President of Indian Medical Association (IMA) told ‘The Hitavada’, “This particular practice has degraded the quality of medical education. Maharashtra Medical Education has strongly and aggressively fought against CPS. No authority was able to monitor or watch the activities of CPS. Their faculties included their own students. Taking these courses was the mockery of medical education. I hope that some checks will come.”

Dr Utture as a Chairman of Maharashtra Medical Commission and also the part of executives of NMC, worked hard on this issue. Late Dr Kishor Taori, the then Chairman of MMC too had opened the front against CPS. In recent past Dr Ashwini Joshi, the then Principal Secretary of Medical Education had taken a strong stand on CPS issue. She had to face the wrath of big leaders.
Some private medical colleges, hospitals used to run CPS courses which are much cheaper than those being run in medical colleges. The students who fail to score in NEET, and for whom the fees in private medical colleges was beyond reach, approached CPS and took admission.
CPS, Mumbai came into being in 1912. Its purpose was good which got defeated from 2014. It was an autonomous body that imparts Postgraduate medical education and offers fellowship, diploma, and certificate courses for medical professionals. The medical education department of Maharashtra previously wrote to the Union Health Ministry asking for its opinion.