The National Medical Commission (NMC) has recommended that medical courses offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) in Mumbai be de-recognized. In a letter to the Under Secretary of the Union Health Ministry, the NMC PG medical education board recommended that the Diploma in Pathology and Bacteriology (DPB), Diploma in Child Health (DCH), and Diploma in Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGO) courses offered by CPS be discontinued for the coming academic year. The NMC Board made this suggestion following a meeting on April 12, 2023, where they expressed their dissatisfaction with the Ministry’s decision to give equivalency to CPS courses.

The NMC claimed that these courses are not within their purview and that they therefore do not agree to give equivalency to the courses of 466 students recognized by the MOHFW (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) in its letter dated October 18, 2022. The letter went on to say, “PGMEB also recommends that the three diploma courses (DPB, DCH, and DGO) for which equivalence has been granted by MOHFW via letter dated April 30, 2021, be withdrawn from the next academic year.” According to Rita Singh, Under Secretary of PGMEB, this advice was made with the agreement of the appropriate authority.

Dr. Girish Maindarkar, President of CPS, has stated that the circular was not a de-recognition letter but rather a suggestion to the government. He reassured students that they should not fear and that they were awaiting an instruction from the medical education department setting a meeting date. CPS Mumbai, founded in 1912, is an autonomous entity that provides postgraduate medical education and fellowship programs, as well as diploma and certificate programs for medical professionals. Practitioners can register as specialists in the particular specialty after earning the qualification given by CPS Mumbai.

The dispute over CPS admissions in Maharashtra began when the Maharashtra medical education department mentioned serious disparities in the quality of colleges offering CPS-affiliated degrees. The department requested advice from the Union Health Ministry on whether counselling for around 1,100 CPS seats may be provided. Referring to the Maharashtra Medical Council’s inspection last year, the department stated that the MMC discovered “severe deficiencies” in several institutes during the inspection. Recently, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari supported the Association of CPS Affiliated Institutes and wrote to the State Secretary, expressing concern that the state could lose all 1,100 CPS seats if the admission process for 2022 is delayed further.

The State Medical Education Department, on the other hand, did not change its mind and issued a show-cause notice to the CPS administration, requesting an explanation for the inadequacies discovered in its affiliated institutes by March 21. CPS petitioned the Bombay High Court for a resumption of the admission procedure. Taking note of the letter from the Maharashtra Medical Education Department, the Central Government previously formed an eight-member committee to investigate the situation.

In a recent decision, the Bombay High Court declined to interfere with the Maharashtra State Medical Education Department’s show-cause notice issued to CPS. The court underlined that the College of Physicians and Surgeons must demonstrate that the courses are functioning as intended.

Finally, the NMC PG medical education board has recommended that CPS courses be de-recognized, which has sparked a debate about CPS admissions in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra State Medical Education Department highlighted to major disparities in the standards of institutes offering CPS-affiliated courses, which resulted in a show-cause notice issued to CPS. The CPS petitioned the Bombay High Court to reopen the admission procedure. An eight-member committee was setup by The Central Government in response to this situation. However, the Bombay High Court bench recently stated that it will not interfere with the show-cause notice unless the College of Physicians and Surgeons can demonstrate that their courses are operating as planned.