In India there are 303 medical colleges teaching MBBS. Out of these, 25 are permitted meaning that these medical colleges are new and getting permission for each year till the first batch of students pass out after 4 and a half year and these colleges become fully recognized. 63 colleges are listed as refused permission or in the process of being permitted, thus indicating there are deficiencies pointed out by the inspection teams.
This indicates that 29 % (88) of medical colleges in India are less than 4 and a half year in the making! There may be another 30% or so which would have come up in the last 10 years; I have not been able to locate a source for this but 30 % seems to be a fair guess.That may indicate that over 50% of the medical colleges in the country may have come up in the last decade.
It is an impressive figure to boast of indicating a robust growth in the medical education of our country. Today, this figure has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Reading in press about the various irregularities in granting permission to new medical colleges in India, it may be that quite a few of these new colleges may be below par in respect to staff, infrastructure, equipment, patient loads in the connected hospitals and the quality of education provided to the students enrolled.
It is prudent to check the antecedents of these colleges, keeping in mind that the current inspection system by MCI may be wanting because of corruption, nepotism and mediocrity. It may be so that a few of these or a majority of these new medical colleges may be adequate and doing a good job.But a recheck is mandatory.
