In a significant regulatory shift, the National Medical Commission (NMC) is instituting a system of unannounced, on-ground inspections for medical colleges across India. The move aims to enforce stricter quality control as the country rapidly expands undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats.
Centralized Pool of Government Faculty as Assessors
The Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), a key arm of the NMC, is spearheading the initiative. Official communications dated December 22 and December 26 have been dispatched to all government medical colleges. These letters mandate the identification of eligible faculty members willing to serve as assessors under the provisions of the NMC Act, 2019.
The newly formed national pool will be deployed specifically for the inspection process related to seat approvals for the 2026–27 academic session. The regulator emphasizes that surprise visits are critical for verifying real-time compliance with prescribed norms and maintaining the integrity of medical education standards.
Strict Eligibility and Deployment Criteria
Not all faculty will qualify for this role. The NMC has set clear eligibility benchmarks. Only faculty members eligible to act as postgraduate guides are being considered for empanelment. Their qualifications will be scrutinized as per the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications (TEQ) Regulations, 2022 and the Medical Institutions (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations, 2025.
Deans and principals have been personally instructed to ensure the notice is widely circulated among eligible staff and displayed prominently on college notice boards. Willing faculty must submit their applications through an online form within 15 days of the notice's issuance.
Beyond Routine Checks: A Broader Mandate
The scope of this assessor pool extends beyond just periodic inspections for seat approvals. MARB has indicated that the same experts may be utilized for additional, unscheduled inspections and for the evaluation of documents and reports submitted by medical colleges at various intervals.
To encourage participation, the NMC has clarified that both travel time and the inspection day will be treated as official duty. All associated costs, including travel, lodging, and assignment remuneration, will be borne by the Commission.
This development signals a tighter enforcement regime focused on core issues like infrastructure, faculty strength, and clinical exposure. By moving towards a centralized system of surprise assessments conducted by peer experts, the NMC aims to directly influence the future approval and recognition of medical colleges, ensuring quality keeps pace with quantity in India's medical education landscape.
