Telangana Gets Conditional NMC Nod for 34 Govt Medical Colleges

Hyderabad:Telangana has managed to secure conditional approval from the National Medical Commission (NMC) for all 34 government medical colleges, with no penalties imposed. All 4,090 MBBS seats allocated to these institutions will remain unaffected for the academic year. This follows the notices the medical body had issued to around 26 of the state's medical colleges for shortages of faculty, equipment, and inadequate infrastructure. The state presented its case to the commission last month, and on Wednesday, the NMC cleared all the colleges for approval.

The government had recently announced significant faculty recruitment measures, along with long-pending promotions. As part of this, 44 senior professors have been promoted as additional directors of medical education and deployed as principals of Government Medical Colleges and Superintendents of associated Teaching Hospitals. Around 278 associate professors have been elevated to the position of professor, and the promotion process has been initiated for 231 Assistant Professors to the rank of associate professor.

In addition, a notification has been issued to fill 607 assistant professor posts through direct recruitment by the Medical and Health Services Recruitment Board (MHSRB). The finance department has sanctioned the recruitment of an additional 714 positions.

"With these measures, we have met at least 90 per cent of our faculty needs in the existing medical colleges. We are confident of addressing the remaining shortfall in the coming months," health minister Damodar Rajanarsimha told Deccan Chronicle. "We are trying to make at least four of the eight newly opened medical colleges operational within the next four months," he added.

In response to concerns raised by the NMC regarding bed capacity in some teaching hospitals, the State Government has initiated the addition of over 6,000 beds across 21 teaching hospitals, ensuring improved patient care and enhanced clinical exposure for students. "We are trying to recruit personnel from TVVP and DPH to General Hospitals through lateral entry to address the shortfall in medical staff," the minister said.

"We want uniformity across all hospitals in the state, irrespective of which department they fall under — be it TVVP or DPH. Infrastructure work in some hospitals should be completed by the end of this year. There is a strong focus on equipment monitoring. A separate vertical is being created for this," the minister explained.

To institutionalise continuous monitoring and ensure quality standards, the State Government has constituted Medical College Monitoring Committees (MCMCs) for each institution. These committees have been tasked with regular inspections and developmental planning, ensuring alignment with NMC norms and academic standards. "MCMCs will be submitting their reports very soon. The infrastructure and equipment aspects will be strengthened once their reports are in," the minister said.

Officials also apprised the NMC of the unprecedented establishment of 25 new government medical colleges between 2022 and 2024. Construction of the required academic infrastructure and affiliated teaching hospitals is currently underway. The NMC has reviewed the progress and advised expedited completion to make the facilities operational for the benefit of students.

The Commission has further directed that all outstanding compliance issues be resolved within four months and confirmed that existing permissions remain valid for all institutions.

Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) is finalising preparations to commence the MBBS counselling process. NEET state ranks are expected to be released shortly, following which counselling will be conducted as per the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) guidelines and schedule.