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New Delhi: In a proactive move to address the issue of ghost faculty plaguing medical colleges and to ensure transparency in attendance tracking for both students and faculty, the National Medical Commission (NMC) is set to unveil a dedicated portal.
According to officials from the NMC, the upcoming portal will incorporate a biometric attendance system, requiring doctors to register their attendance by punching in and out every 24 hours upon entering or leaving the hospital premises.
Dr. K. Srinivas, Secretary of the NMC, highlighted the necessity for such a system, citing challenges with physical appearances and the dignity of doctors. “We are facing a lot of issues in physical appearances, and to make it more transparent, the new portal will be instrumental,” he stated.
The portal, slated for launch in the coming days, aims to ensure the presence of doctors in medical colleges. Dr. Srinivas emphasized the importance of transparency in the NMC’s operations, asserting that the portal would facilitate data submission from colleges since their inception.
One of the primary goals of the NMC is to enhance transparency and authenticity in faculty attendance. To achieve this, the NMC has consistently advocated for the adoption of Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems (AEBAS) in medical colleges. Dr. Srinivas underscored the significance of utilizing data from the AEBAS dashboard to monitor attendance, with a focus on ensuring compliance with attendance norms.
While the new portal is designed to streamline the attendance monitoring process, surprise inspections by the commission will continue to verify data uploaded on the portal and assess physical infrastructure.
In addition to attendance monitoring, the NMC will introduce an online portal for medical colleges to appeal compliance-related issues, further streamlining the assessment process.
The move comes in response to longstanding challenges faced by Indian medical colleges, including faculty shortages and issues related to ghost faculty. Last year’s assessment by the NMC for the academic year 2022-2023 revealed widespread instances of ghost faculties and senior residents, exacerbating the shortage of qualified faculty.
As the NMC continues its efforts to address these challenges, stakeholders in medical education await the rollout of the new portal, hopeful that it will usher in a new era of transparency and accountability in medical colleges across the country.
