What is NEP nd How NEP 2020 Will Impact India’s Medical Education System?

Why NEP  is proposed ?

“To raise the the Gross Enrolment Ratio of 50% by the year 2035.

For this to achieve all universities must contribute to it. 

 The government-recognised multiple the entry and exit options at the undergraduate level will give more options to the youth.”

Features :

1. the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved National Education Policy 2020. 

2. It proposes  a three-language formula.

3. it treated economic and social backwardness as the same, when that isn’t the reality. 

4. With regards to the language policy, the Centre has already clarified that Hindi would not be mandatory, and that the State governments can pick the three languages it wants to include in the syllabus. 

5. the medium of instruction till grade 5 and preferably till 8 will be in the local language. However, it is unclear if this will be imposed on private english-medium schools as well. 

6.The 10+2 system will be divided into 5+3+3+4 format. This means the first five years of the school will comprise the foundation stage including three years of pre-primary school and classes 1 and class 2.

The next three years will be divided into a preparatory stage from classes 3 to 5. Later three years of middle stage (classes 6 to 8), and four years of secondary stage (classes 9 to 12).

7. Schools will not have any rigid formation of streams of arts, commerce, science, and students can take up whichever courses they want.

8.  Report cards will be a comprehensive report on skills and capabilities, instead of just marks and statements.

9.  Vocational courses shall be introduced from Class 6 onwards.

10. There will be a common entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to universities and higher education institutions.

11. All higher education institutions, except legal and medical colleges, will be governed by a single regulator.  that this may reduce State’s involvement in education and impose Centre’s instead.

12. E-courses will be developed in regional languages and virtual labs will be developed and a National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is being created. 

13. The p[olicy aims for public investment in the education sector to reach 6 per cent of the GDP at the earliest. The Union Human Resources Development Ministry will now be known as Education Ministry.

How NEP 2020 Will Impact India’s Medical Education System?

Remember, The NEP 2020 is only a policy, not a law; implementation of its proposals depends on further regulations by both States and the Centre as education is a concurrent subject. Though the policy seeks to bring a holistic change in the education system of India, its success depends on the will and way in which it will be implemented.

1.No Centralised exit examination for MBBS education as proposed in national health commission rules. 

2. integration and hybridization of AYUSH and Modern medicine which would be detrimental to the fundamental principles of both streams.

It plans to integrate modern medicine with the traditional system of AYUSH which would certainly  create lot of confusion and hybridization of health care. 

 "All students of allopathic medical education must have a basic understanding of AYUSH and vice versa”, the NEP states.

Comment by secretary general-IMA : How can we think of making a doctor a jack of all trades and do experiments on patients? We must not intend to produce hybrid doctors as it will eventually produce official quacks.rather we may recommend to utilise both modern and ayush doctors at primary level of health care delivery.

3. According to the proposals, all science graduates will be studying a common foundational course designed uniformly for all branches in the first year. They can then take up specializations of their choice such as MBBS, BDS, and nursing. However, th
is recommendation also received heavy criticism from the medical fraternity as it was expected to produce sub-standard doctors and lead to quackery and dilution of modern medical education.

para no . 20. 2 and 20. 5 says -
educational institutions shall aim to become multidisciplinary offering holistic education.
and health care education system must be integrative and plural. 

objections and suggestions raised by IMA AP state?

1. autonomy of the health universities should not be diluted.

2. medical education should only by dealt by health universities but not by any other ordinary universities.

3. the curriculum of professional education along with monitoring of educational standards should be governed by MCI,DCI&NCI.

4. IMA strongly objecting the policy which would pave the way for mixopathy,pluralism in healthcare that could be detrimental to medical profession and public health.

5. in every step and in every development the funding should be through the health universities.

6. Make UG:PG ratio as 1:1

7. Multidisciplinary curricula, multiple entry exit points are exhaustive, time

Consuming, leads to lack of focus to student & teacher; hence disadvantageous and counter productive.

 8. Any committee to review the above must contain stake holders – IMA,COUNCILS&Universities.

9.  professional education & practice are closely knit; any attempt to separate and add to a wider council will dilute the standards.

10. Fee structure in pvt. Medical colleges should be regulated by the "Fee regulatory commission" only but not by any other body.

11.For the access of poor students in to professional courses,marginalised sections have to be subsidised by the govt.