Representation to the honorable

Member of the Parliament

o n t h e n e g l e c t o f I n d i a ’s b i o m e d i c a l s c i e n t i s t s i n
healthcare, medical education & research and
denial of opportunities in their area of
education.

K i n d l y ta ke u p o u r i s s u e s i n t h e Pa r l i a m e nt .

National M.Sc Medical

Teachers’ Association
www.nmmta.org
1st August 2018
NMMTA is an Association of
‘non-medical’ teachers
working in the non-clinical
departments of medical &
dental colleges across India.
This representation is regarding the
roles of the Biomedical Scientists with
medical M.Sc degree conducted by the
medical colleges and awarded under
the faculty of medicine.
About Us
N a t i o n a l M . S c M e d i c a l Te a c h e r s ’ A s s o c i a t i o n ®

• Current membership, including students is 1045

• MCI doesn’t provide data on the number of non-
medical teachers working in medical colleges
• Data from Dental Council of India too is
unavailable
• Our estimates suggest that there are ~5000 non-
medical teachers, which is ~13% of the faculty
strength in the non-clinical departments
• ~35 medical colleges, including AIIMS, JIPMER &
PGI are conducting these courses
3
 FR

Roles played
by the biomedical scientists with medical M.Sc degree

• Education & training received at the medical

colleges (which is similar to MD course)
empowers them to:
• Teach non-clinical & basic sciences in medical &
dental colleges
• Consultants (as microbiologists or biochemists) in
diagnostic laboratories
• Scientists in research institutions
• Miscellaneous roles

4
 FR

Issues with the teaching role

faced by the ‘non -medical’ teachers

• Currently, MCI permits their appointment to the extent of 30

% (50% in Biochemistry) of the permissible faculty strength
• MCI proposes to reduce it to 15% (25% in Biochemistry) and
stop this practice after 3 years
• If approved by the health ministry, no non-medical teacher
can be taken in the colleges that have 50-100 MBBS
admissions
• Because of the revised ratio, the career & future of the
existing staff would be jeopardized
• Not only those pursuing medical M.Sc & Ph.D course won’t
get new jobs, but also thousands risk being harassed or
terminated from their existing jobs
5
 FR

Issues with the consultant role

faced by the ‘non -medical’ teachers

• Despite giving representations to the Health Ministry,

DGHS, members of the subcommittee, our valid stand
has been summarily rejected
• Despite being recognized by the NABL and approved by
the Delhi High Court, the guidelines for diagnostic
laboratories under Clinical Establishments Act, our
qualifications were unjustly excluded
• Because of this unethical & unjust decision, which has
snatched away our rightful role in the diagnostics, we
had to approach the High Court for relief
6
 FR

Issues with the scientist role

faced by the ‘non -medical’ teachers

• Despite being labeled ‘Biomedical Scientists’, the

opportunities for research is extremely low
• From the replies obtained under the RTI Act, only
a dozen persons with medical M.Sc degree are
working as scientists in the central research
institutions
• Opportunities in the state government research
institutions are even less
• Genuine Research in the most of govt & private
medical colleges are rare or non-existent 7

Our Request with the Government
1. Form a committee under MoHFW or a
parliamentary committee to discuss all
our issues
2. Decide if the nation wants biomedical
scientists with medical M.Sc degree or
not
3. If required, define their roles and plan
how many are required for the next 5-
10 years
4. Standardize the conduct of these
courses, bring them back into the first
schedule of the IMC Act
5. Let MCI regulate these courses as it
does with other courses in the first
schedule
FR
6. If this is not possible, constitute a
separate council for the biomedical
scientists
7. Since MoHFW has clarified that medical
M.Sc courses don’t come under Allied or
Paramedical profession, a distinct
council be formed which would regulate
course & registers persons
8. Changes that might adversely affect the
non-medical teachers must not applied
retrospectively
9. When MCI is replaced by the NMC, our
problems should have been rectified and
a representation given so that we are
not discriminated again 8

Our Request with the Government
10. Both non-medical and medical
teachers are required for wholesome
& balanced medical education
11. There may be a reservation of up to
30% for non-medical teachers in the
non-clinical subjects
12. MD courses in Anatomy, Physiology,
Biochemistry, Microbiology &
Pharmacology be drastically reduced
or stopped
13. India needs more doctors to practice in
the area of public health than merely
teach in the classrooms
14. This approach practiced in the
Western countries, may be adopted
FR
15. Government has to provide impetus to
research in the basic medical sciences
16. Biomedical scientists with Ph.D should be
tasked to head the research divisions
17. State governments, universities,
Pharmaceutical and R&D companies must
be encouraged to fund research in the
form of grants
18. Teachers should be appointed on merit;
mere possession of a certain degree or
the lack of it is not an indication of the
person’s ability or inability
19. We suggest to introduce a NET-like
examination for the selection of teachers
in the medical colleges too 9

Our Request with the Government
20. Let medical students get the best of
both the degrees
21. Let there be no discrimination in the
academic work allotment,
opportunities and faculty promotions
22. There must be an ombudsman
provision for the non-medical teachers
to raise their grievances
23. Rating of teachers, departments and
colleges by the students as a part of
feedback is a must
24. The guidelines of the diagnostic
laboratories under the CEA must be
amended to include consultant roles
for the biomedical scientists
FR
25. Govt must give importance to training,
competence and certification instead of
relying merely on academic qualifications
26. HRD ministry must make amendments to
include medical M.Sc candidates for UGC-
CSIR NET tests as the syllabus is entirely
different
27. ICMR must provide funds to non-medical
teachers for pursuing Ph.D as it gives to
MD students
28. Age for the post-doctoral fellowships
must be raised for non-medical teachers
29. All health universities must offer post-
doctoral fellowships in basic medical
sciences 10
 FR
Our appeal
to the government

• Please consider our genuine requests, for we are raising them for several years now.
• Since our field of study is purely medical, it always conflicts with the interests of doctors,
therefore we aren’t able to rise to top positions in any career.
• Compared to the doctors, we constitute an insignificant minority. Our rights must be
protected and promoted by the government.
• Education can't be a monopoly of one sect of people; monopoly of one professionals in
any sector only breeds contempt, corruption, and cronyism.
• For too long the governments have pandered to just one profession in the healthcare,
ignoring everybody else. It's time to recognize, honour & promote other contributors in
healthcare & medical education.
• Science & society are benefited when people from diverse academic backgrounds come
together & contribute. We need coordination, not competition. 11
NMMTA Thank You.
Dr. Sridhar Rao
President, NMMTA
president@medicalmsc.org
www.medicalmsc.org
www.nmmta.org