SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Oct 7: Teachers of medical colleges would now be under the direct scanner of the National Medical Commission (NMC) soon.
The NMC has directed the government and private medical colleges to connect the bio-metric attendance of teachers/doctors with it (NMC) and install CCTV cameras at different places in the institution for their monitoring directly from New Delhi.
The NMC recently held a video conference with the principals of all medical colleges including private institutions and instructed them to install CCTV cameras on campus.
In this regard, one of the principals of a Jharkhand government-run medical college said that till date bio-metric attendance of teachers/doctors was already linked with the state health department, but now it would be connected with NMC Delhi too.
“Now NMC would monitor the medical college daily through bio-metric attendance of teachers and its activities through the direct link of CCTV camera rather making sudden spot inspection of the institution in a year,” said the principal, who requested not to be quoted his name.
NMC has directed to install CCTV cameras at patient registration counters in hospitals, classes and other places to monitor the activities of teachers/ doctors. However, wards of hospitals, examination rooms and other places have been exempted from CCTV lenses so that the privacy of patients and students could be protected.
Directive tightens noose on private medical colleges
The directive of NMC would tighten the noose on such private medical colleges that keep teachers only on paper to show the faculty strength to medical colleges’ monitoring body.
Allegedly, names of the teachers are enrolled in two to three private medical colleges and they visit the institutions three to six months a year to draw their salary. Several teachers in Jharkhand medical colleges too are enrolled in private medical colleges in Nepal, Uttar Pradesh and other states after retirement.
In private medical colleges, the retirement age of teachers is 70 years but in Jharkhand government-owned medical colleges it was 65 years (now 76). So after retirement, they switch over to private institutions on a contract basis.
“Now after direct link of bio-metric attendance and installation of CCTV camera on the campus under the supervision of NMC, fake appointment of teachers and OPD attendance of patients of private medical college would be exposed,” said a principal.
