Decline in Quality of Medical Education in India: Dr. Naresh Purohit

New Delhi: The quality of medical education in India has seen a concerning decline in recent years, largely due to the commercialization of education, inadequate infrastructure, and inconsistent regulation.

Private medical colleges, which constitute a significant portion of the country’s medical institutions, often prioritize profit over academic excellence. This trend leads to exorbitant fees, making medical education accessible only to those who can afford it, rather than to the most deserving candidates.
Moreover, a lack of standardized curriculum and quality control has resulted in disparities in the competency of medical graduates. While some institutions adhere to global standards, others lag, failing to equip students with adequate practical skills and knowledge. Compounding this issue is the shortage of qualified teaching faculty, with many colleges relying on undertrained or part-time instructors.
The falling standards of medical education has been a matter of grave concern for the medical fraternity in recent years. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has rightly attributed it to the shortage of teaching staff coupled with the presence of
” Ghost Faculty ” and suggested strong measures to improve the situation. But, that I feel is only the tip of the iceberg.Training of medical teachers by newer models will help them in becoming better educators/ facilitators has been largely overlooked and greater emphasis has been paid to improvement of physical infrastructure
e. g. libraries, laboratories etc.
The need of the hour is to improve the quality of medical education from the present medical teachers.
Hence, it is imperative that those responsible look after the interests of medical teachers by providing them with higher pay scales, more opportunities for promotion and better environment for higher studies and research so that financial constraints do not distract them from discharging their duties effectively.
The NMC needs to give a serious thought to improving the quality of medical education through better teachers rather than concentrating on increasing the number of medical teachers and medical students .

The mushrooming of substandard medical colleges, often enabled by corruption, has further diluted the quality of education.
Inadequate emphasis on research and innovation also stifles the development of critical thinking among students.
The consequences are far-reaching: poorly trained doctors can compromise patient safety and erode public trust in the healthcare system. Addressing this decline requires stringent regulation, increased investment in public medical colleges, and a greater emphasis on merit-based admissions and faculty development.

*Dr. Naresh Purohit-MD, DNB, DIH, MHA, MRCP(UK), is an eminent Epidemiologist, Advisor-National Communicable Disease Control Program of Govt. of India, Madhya Pradesh and several state organizations.)

Dr.  Purohit is also Principal Investigator for the Association of Studies For Kidney Care.