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Medical students in Rajasthan are facing an unprecedented challenge as a severe shortage of faculty members in government medical colleges forces them to turn to YouTube for guidance instead of traditional classroom instruction. Newly established medical colleges, meant to expand access to medical education, are plagued by a lack of essential infrastructure, faculty, and equipment, leaving students without adequate support and direction.
The Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Curriculum, issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC), mandates a minimum of 150 faculty members per 100 MBBS seats. However, several colleges in Rajasthan are drastically falling short of this requirement. For instance, Karauli and Hanumangarh have only 16 faculty members each, Bundi has 32, and Alwar has 36, which is far below the expected standard.
Moreover, even in well-established institutions, critical subjects such as microbiology, pathology, and biochemistry are being taught by underqualified or insufficient faculty, and their labs are poorly equipped. In Dholpur Medical College, which opened in 2022-23, there is only one faculty member each for anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology. Similarly, at Karauli Medical College, the second batch of students has no designated teachers, with 33 Group-2 doctors being given the title of assistant professors to meet regulatory requirements.
Bharatpur Medical College, which has been operating for seven years, still has a faculty strength 48% below the required level. These alarming deficiencies have prompted concerns about the future of medical education in the state, especially as the NMC continues to approve new medical colleges without proper oversight.
Dr. Rohan Krishnan, Chief Patron of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), criticized the unchecked opening of medical colleges. He told Medical Dialogues, “Permission to run medical colleges is being given out without proper restrictions… mainly business groups are opening them to make money.” Dr. Krishnan also pointed to the lack of inspections since the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that private institutions are prioritizing profits over quality education.
On the issue of faculty shortages, he remarked, “The real picture is much worse. Why is NMC giving permissions? Accountability has to be fixed… whether this is corruption or ignorance.”
A review conducted by the NMC in 2022 revealed that 50% of Indian medical colleges failed to meet the minimum requirements for faculty and infrastructure. Out of 349 institutions flagged for non-compliance, 197 were government-aided. Despite this, Rajasthan plans to open five additional medical colleges, which raises further concerns about the quality of future medical education in the state.
Disclaimer: This article is based on reports from Dainik Bhaskar and Medical Dialogues and is intended to highlight the ongoing challenges in the medical education sector in Rajasthan.
