Withdrawal of flawed medical education guidelines by NMC

Source: The post withdrawal of flawed medical education guidelines by NMC has been created, based on the article “Undoing the undoing: The withdrawal of the new curriculum by the NMC is welcome” published in “The Hindu” on 7th August 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS paper2- Governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education

Context: The article discusses the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) withdrawal of new medical education guidelines following criticism and legal issues. It included discriminatory content against the LGBTQIA+ community and omitted important disability education. This move was seen as a setback to progress in inclusive education.

What were the issues with the NMC’s new guidelines?

1. The National Medical Commission (NMC) published guidelines on August 31 that labeled sodomy and lesbianism as “unnatural sexual offences”. It also placed cross-dressing or transvestism in the category of “sexual perversion.”
2. The guidelines also removed a mandatory seven-hour training on disability competencies from the foundation course for medical students.

How did the guidelines violate existing laws?

1. Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 – This act protects the rights of transgender individuals, and classify certain behaviors as offences or perversions that goes against this law.
2. Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 – This act mandates the inclusion of disability rights in educational curricula. The NMC removed these essential competencies, which had been a part of the curriculum since 2019 due to advocacy efforts.

What was the response to the revised curriculum?

Transgender and disability rights groups were strongly opposed to the changes. They planned to petition the World Federation for Medical Education to suspend the NMC’s recognition unless the guidelines were corrected. This response highlighted the community’s refusal to accept regressive changes in medical education.

What was the outcome?

Following intense backlash and legal scrutiny, the NMC withdrew the controversial guidelines. This action restored the previously made advancements in inclusive medical education but also exposed the fragility of these gains in the face of administrative decisions.

Question for practice:

Discuss the issues with the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) new medical education guidelines and how they violated existing laws.