Fake Medical Colleges Alarm: NMC advises students & parents to remain vigilant

STC NEWS MONITORING DESK
SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 10 (STC): Reacting to the instances of medical colleges offering medical courses without statutory permission, the National Medical Commission (NMC) in a statement issued to media has cautioned against taking admission or making payments to such medical colleges. The NMC has advised parents and students to verify the authenticity and regulatory approval of such institutions beforehand.
Students and parents should exercise due diligence and verify the authenticity and regulatory status of any institution before seeking admission, enrolling in or making any payment towards a medical course,” the commission said into statement advisory.
The advisory further reads that
students seeking admission to MBBS courses to verify whether the college is included in the official list of medical colleges published by the commission and whether the requisite permission has been granted for the relevant academic year.
The commission has made it clear that the presence of a college in an official list or its operation in an earlier year “shall not, by itself, be treated as confirmation of permission to admit students for every subsequent academic year or beyond the approved intake”.
“Students must independently verify the permission status, course and number of approved seats through official NMC and Medical Assessment and Rating Board records. They should not rely solely on brochures, websites, advertisements, social media posts or purported permission and approval letters circulated by institutions or their representatives, the NMC advised.
Further, for admissions covered by counselling procedures, the NMC has advised candidates to use official channels, including the Medical Counselling Committee or the competent state or Union Territory counselling authority.
The commission also cautioned against making admission-related payments to unauthorised agents, personal bank accounts or unverified intermediaries.
“Approval, affiliation, registration or recognition granted by one authority for a particular purpose should not be construed as permission from the National Medical Commission to conduct an MBBS course,” the advisory said.
The students and parents have been advised to report suspected fake medical colleges, unauthorised MBBS courses, forged permission letters, fraudulent admission offers or misleading representations to the NMC and other competent authorities.

(Straight Talk Communications I Inputs from News Agencies)