PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION AGAINST INCLUSION OF MSC PHD QUALIFIED PERSONS AS
MEDICAL AND DENTAL COLLEGE TEACHERS. They are Unsuitable as Medical Teachers as
they are teaching something they themselves do not know, hence are unemployable
in medical institutions for teaching purposes.
Why we are involving the esteemed members of public in our litigation is that
surely the society should have a role in selecting the teachers who teach their
wards. Such precaution parents often exercise in studies up to 12th standard or
Plus two courses. Some how beyond Plus two,i.e MBBS and MD,BDS,MDS or B.E ,Bsc
Nursing or BSc MLT or other science courses parents fail to exercise caution.
Also students are not in position to judge their teachers in medical or dental
colleges. Hence we need societal participation in monitoring health and medical
education in a developing country like India.
An Msc (General Science) or MSc Medical science graduates are serving different
functional domains in our society. A General MSc graduate is a BSc from a
science college and gains entry to an MSc course in Physics, Chemistry, Zoology,
Botany majors and is expected to go into research, teaching of Science college
students. A Medical Science Msc degree has been offered by medical colleges like
Manipal and Mangalore Kasturba Medical College and Dr ALM Centre for Basic
Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Kottayam as they happen to employ a
medical graduate or two to supervise, along with other teachers of a science
college, the candidate's research project/thesis. Here a abridged syllabus in
anatomy is employed, as anatomy teachers do not exist in such universities.MCI
governs the quality of MSc degree in formative few years and then virtually such
MCI recognized centre remains uncontrolled by MCI.
Medical teaching also depends on clinical experience gained by case-work and it
adds upto medical theoretical knowledge in subjects like physiology,
microbiology, biochemistry and when relevant clinical medicine information is
taught to student he will be able to do problem solving, and diagnose disease or
understand disease to solve peoples suffering. Only a medical person, holding
MBBS degree has complete basic knowledge of theory and practice of modern
allopathy hence has been employed even by ayurvedic and homeopathic colleges to
teach medicine. So a nonmedical person especially an MSc cannot do efficient or
relevant medical teaching for two reasons-hes has not studied medicine, and he
has not qualified in practical exams like a MBBS doctor.
Further, such Msc faculty will not be able to do efficient medical teaching-they
may be highly qualified but do not suit the medical college teaching which just
requires the Bachelors in medicine and surgery or dentistry not masters in
science. Sufficient Medical graduates are present in existing society (MBBS) and
will have to be employed as medical and dental college teachers. Efficiency of
medical teaching is to MBBS persons having vast previous medical teaching
experience and such a teaching system of employing MBBS persons has been in
practice in Directorates of medical education in Andhra Pradesh and
Tamilnadu.Even now to some extent MBBS tutors are employed in Karnataka Director
of Medical Education Service.
MSc persons are not employable-in medical college settings. Though may have gone
through a abridged curriculum some MSc graduates as from Medical colleges lack
application on Medical settings, and lack actual self learned medical skills
borne out of self experience. A nonmedical person cannot differentiate lung
sounds in Normal and diseased lungs yet has to give discourse on Lung sounds,
which he delivers, is height of hypocrisy and cheating in medical teaching. Such
nonmedical graduates are not employable and head of departments have struggled
in previous decades to teach such persons medical basics.Many Msc teachers admit
in medical colleges their inability to teach certain topics which are difcicullt
to them since they are trying to teach something which they themselves do not
know. Teaching something they themselves do not know makes them unemployable and
may end up teaching incorrect medical knowledge to their students,and such
faulty teaching is disastrous and results in defective understanding of basic
medical sciences among students graduating from medical institutions.
We should not lower the goals just to achieve our goal, and means is also
important. Absence of Medical faculty should not be filled by non medical
persons even in dire scarcity the reason being it dilutes and defeats the
purpose of medical teaching. Employing nonmedical means, i.e nonmedical teachers
will end up in producing a non medical oriented MBBS graduate and employing a
medical teacher will produce a student well trained in basics of medical
sciences, to suit our clinical practice in medicine and dentistry and will be
able to apply his clinical knowledge in most efficient way to impart clinical
skills apart from fulfilling curriculum requirements.
Hence MCI has been insisting on medical teachers in medical colleges, and now
Dental council is also prescribing medical persons only for these teaching
posts. Just because MD persons are lacking, colleges should not end up in
filling non medical graduates as it will destroy the medical education framework
in first year MBBS, a foundation year in medical sciences, and the medical
career. Improper foundation or irrelevant overburdened non medical teaching by
such unqualified medical teachers may not bring medical expertise in the
student, as nonmedicals predominate some departments. There is no actual
shortage of Medical faculty and it is a simple maldistribution, of medical
faculty.