NMC to medical colleges: File monthly reports on student suicides, ragging cases, faculty vacancies

Months after the Supreme Court-appointed National Task Force (NTF) on students’ mental health submitted its interim report, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has asked all medical colleges in the country to file monthly reports about unnatural deaths, suicides and ragging incidents on the campus.

The medical education regulator, in a letter to colleges on Monday, also sought compliance details about various safety and well-being measures – such as medical and emergency health support, anti-ragging initiatives, mental health services, faculty sensitisation and capacity building and the physical infrastructure for accessibility – as well as the disciplinary actions taken in the event of any untoward incident.

As directed by the apex court, the NMC has also asked the colleges to address two broader issues linked with student welfare – filling up of vacant staff positions, especially those belonging to marginalised communities, and disbursement of pending scholarships.

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The task force was constituted by the apex court to identify the predominant causes leading to the commission of suicides by students, analyse the existing legal and institutional frameworks along and their inadequacies; and make recommendations to strengthen protections for students. Following a consultative process, the panel, headed by former SC judge Ravindra Bhat, submitted its findings to the apex court in December last year. In January, the court, accordingly, issued a set of directives to the higher education institutions.

Mental Health: NMC directive to medical colleges

While the court’s guidelines are meant for all colleges and universities, medical education institutes, in particular, are increasingly witnessing distress among students, with recurring complaints about ragging, abuse and academic and clinical workload. Many of the institutes lack the necessary facilities and adequate teaching and non-teaching staff, exacerbating the problem.

In its communication to colleges, NMC has enclosed an extensive pro-forma, enlisting the various infrastructural facilities, statutory bodies, actions and initiatives that the colleges must fulfill.

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Following are some of the aspects covered in the NMC advisory:

Data Collection of Student Suicides and Unnatural Deaths

• Details

• Was the incident reported immediately to local police authorities?

• Preventive steps taken post-incident

Medical and Emergency Health Support

• Availability of 24x7 Medical Facility

• Emergency Response SOP in place

• Ambulance facility

Faculty and Administrative Positions

• Reserved Category Vacancies

• Steps taken to fill vacancies

• Status of key positions (VC/Director/Dean/Registrar)

Scholarships and Student Welfare

• Pending scholarship cases

• Steps taken to clear backlog

• Whether any student was compelled to pay the fees due to delay

Statutory Bodies and Grievance Redressal Mechanism

• Anti-Ragging Committee

• Anti-Discrimination Officer

• Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)

• Student Grievance Redressal Committee

Ragging

• Preventive Measures

• Incident details

• Disciplinary Actions

Inclusion and Accessibility

• Accessibility Audit

• Infrastructure modifications made

• Facilities for PwDs

• Facilities for transgender students (hostel/sanitation/privacy)

• Examination accommodations

Faculty Sensitisation and Capacity Building

• Training details

• Number of faculty trained

• Training modules

Campus Mental Health Services

• Number of qualified mental health professionals appointed

• Student-to-counsellor ratio

• Confidentiality SOP in place

• Anonymous feedback mechanism

• Crisis intervention protocol

An action taken report (ATR) is to be mailed by the institutes to the commission every month.