Medical Colleges Stage-Managing Inspections, Say Students

Hyderabad: ‘Surprise’ inspections by the National Medical Commission (NMC) are becoming increasingly predictable at many private medical colleges, students and doctors alleged, claiming that prior warning of the visits allowed managements to put up orchestrated displays that do not reflect daily functioning.

This week, a private medical college reportedly received advance information about an upcoming inspection. Students and staff say it triggered an overnight transformation: Empty wards were filled, absent faculty reappeared, and preparations were made to meet paper requirements.

“Two days ago there were hardly any patients,” said a junior doctor posted at the college. “Now, it looks like a functioning hospital. Everything is being set up just for show.”

Doctors from other colleges shared similar experiences with Deccan Chronicle. A senior faculty member from Karnataka said, “It’s always about the numbers, bed occupancy, faculty presence, teaching hours. When colleges know what’s coming, they create those numbers for just long enough. It’s routine.”

A junior doctor who graduated from a private medical college talked about how it hired patients and brought in temporary faculty before an inspection. She pointed out that a former Medical Council official had, back in 2022, in Tamil Nadu, even admitted such practices were widespread and difficult to detect without truly unannounced visits.

Students said the inspections had become performative. A final-year MBBS student from the city shared, “On regular days, we hardly have enough patients, but, before an inspection, the wards suddenly fill up. They even leave printed case summaries or handwritten notes for us with the diagnosis and key findings. It’s meant to help us present the case if an inspector asks questions. It feels rehearsed, like we’re just reading out a script rather than learning to think clinically.”

Others allege that faculty members who haven’t attended classes in months are told to show up briefly to mark their presence. Biometric attendance is also reportedly manipulated in some colleges, either through proxy punching or coordinated appearances timed with inspections.

While the NMC has introduced digital reforms like Aadhaar-linked records and real-time dashboards, say these tools can be bypassed if institutions are given time to prepare. There are now calls for the Commission to introduce anonymous student feedback, spot audits, and randomised hospital rounds.

“If inspections continue to be known in advance, they will never capture the real issues, lack of teaching, poor facilities, or low patient load,” said a postgraduate student. “We need checks that reflect everyday reality, not a staged version of it.”