India faces challenges in public health education

Source: The post India faces challenges in public health education has been created, based on the article “The challenges of public health education in India” published in “The Hindu” on 17th March 2025. India faces challenges in public health education.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper2-Governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context: The article discusses challenges in India’s public health education and job market. It highlights job shortages, poor training quality, and lack of regulation. It suggests creating more public health jobs, improving training, and setting quality standards to strengthen India’s health system.

How has the U.S. decision to cut global health aid affected India?

1. The U.S. withdrew from the WHO and reduced USAID funding, impacting many low- and middle-income countries.
2. India was largely unaffected because international aid makes up just 1% of its total health expenditure.
3. However, this decision reduced funding for public health development in India.
4. It also shrunk job opportunities for MPH graduates and public health professionals.

How has public health education evolved in India?

1. Public health education in India dates back to the colonial era.
2. The All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata was established in 1932.
3. Preventive and social medicine, now called community medicine, became part of medical education.
4. Earlier, most students pursued MPH abroad due to the lack of institutions in India.
5. The number of MPH institutions grew from just one in 2000 to over 100 today.
6. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) (2005) increased demand for public health roles.
7. However, after an initial rise, government recruitment slowed down, making jobs scarce.

What challenges do public health graduates face?

1. Mismatch between supply and demand – many MPH graduates, but few job openings.
2. Entry-level jobs (e.g., research/programme assistants) attract a large number of applicants, making competition tough.
3. The private sector favors hospital and business management graduates over public health professionals.
4. Public sector job opportunities are shrinking, limiting options for graduates.
5. Research and development (R&D) jobs depend on foreign grants, but India is no longer a priority country for global funders.
6. The development sector is underfunded, and the situation is worsening due to the U.S. funding cuts.

Why is the quality of public health education a concern?

1. MPH courses lack mandatory regulation from bodies like NMC or UGC.
2. No uniform curriculum or quality standards despite the Health Ministry’s model course framework.
3. Public health schools compete for students, often lowering admission standards.
4. Many students join without clear knowledge or passion for the field.
5. Public health faculty lack proper training and real-world experience.
6. Some large and populous states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam have few or no MPH institutions.

What steps can improve public health jobs and education?

1. Create public health jobs in primary care, state, and national health systems.
2. Develop a dedicated public health workforce at the state level.
3. Set up a regulatory body under NMC or UGC to improve education standards.
4. Ensure practical learning is integrated into all public health programs.
5. Expand public health institutions in states with low availability of courses.
6. India must strengthen its own health development funding instead of depending on global aid.

Question for practice:

Examine the challenges faced by public health graduates in India and their impact on employment opportunities.