Bio metric Systems must to open a medical college: MCI

New Delhi: Bio metric facility will soon be a mandatory requirement for opening of a medical college This decision by the Medical Council of India(MCI), is aimed to put an end to the fake faculty employed by medical colleges to clear its inspections. The apex body is in all readiness to launch the bio metric facility in both government and medical colleges.

Proposed in 2009, the bio metric system proposal have earlier been stuck in bureaucratic wrangles. However, it has finally been revived, and is soon to become MCI's recourse to prevent fake faculty from entering the gates of medical colleges.

Bio metric facility is being made a mandatory requirement for opening of a medical college.Soon to be launched by Union Health Minister, J.P. Nadda, the system will be an effective way for the MCI to monitor teacher attendance in colleges.

The bio metric system proposal is meant to expose fake faculty counts that are arranged by private medical colleges, for MCI approval to open and run their colleges, at the time of Council inspections.

"The bio metric based network will allow MCI to check on the faculty members that attend medical colleges. This will tighten the noose and ensure that adequate number of teachers attend colleges," said a senior MCI official .

Linked to the faculty Aadhaar card numbers, the facility is to be launched in about a hundred colleges in a phased manner. The bio metric system, is meant to be notified under the minimum standards required to open a medical institution.

"The gazette notification will be out soon making sure that the medical colleges have the system in place before seeking permission to open a new medical college or seeking permission for enhancing seats in the college," added the official.

Conceptualized with the aim to control "ghost faculty" and dropped as 'not feasible' later, the proposal is in for revival on centralized faculty identification and tracking for all medical institutions in the country. The aim of the project is to maintain a database of the faculty, and the time spent by it in the classroom.

All medical colleges, including the private ones, are in the know of the new proposal.

"We used to receive complaints about the colleges that they did not have the stipulated number of faculty, but would arrange teachers during inspections. The new system will end this practice," added another official and as reported by The Asian