Sumi Sukanya dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In a decision that opens a new window of opportunity for specialist doctors in the private sector, the medical education regulator has decided to allow them to teach MBBS and PG students in government and private medical colleges.

The decision taken by the Medical Council of India-Board of Governors (BOG) is aimed at addressing the crippling shortage of teachers in medical colleges. At present, only full-time faculty in relevant disciplines can be hired. “Full-time faculty, in addition to teaching, are also responsible for clinical care in their college or hospital as well as research,” a senior BOG official told this newspaper.

“We thought one way to strengthen teaching intensity and quality will be to augment the regular strength of full-time teachers with part-time visiting faculty by bringing in qualified specialists working in the private sector or those who are self-employed,” the official said.

The visiting faculty provision is a top-up, over and above the regular full time faculty, the BOG noted in a recent meeting. They should have qualifications in line with the guidelines and can be employed up to 70 years of age, the regulator said.

In fact, second and third generations of AIIMS, which are out of the regulator’s purview, are already experimenting with such an arrangement.

“It’s a practical move keeping in mind the ground realities,” said Dr Arun Kumar, principal of N C Medical College in Panipat, Haryana who was previously director of IGIMS, Patna. “It would have been better without the age cap as there is acute shortage for senior-most positions. If a candidate, despite his age, is well suited for a role, he should be considered. It should be decided on a case to case basis.”