>PMO settles turf war between health and HRD ministries

>The Health and Human Resource Development ministries have reached a compromise on regulating medical education and research. The National Commission for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH), piloted by the Health Ministry, will set the standards for university-level medical education. On the other hand, the National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), piloted by the HRD Ministry, will set the policy guidelines for all medical research. Universities will also be free to have more exacting higher standards for which they will deal with NCHER.

The agreement brokered by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will end the turf war between the Health and HRD ministries. This could mean that both bills could be finalised for introduction in the Budget session of parliament. There appears to be a move to bring in Rajashekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), as the chairperson of NCHER.

The need to apportion medical education between the two proposed regulators became necessary after HRD ministry appointed taskforce on NCHER suggested that higher education in all disciplines should be brought under the proposed over-arching regulator. The exception was agricultural education, since agriculture is a state subject. The move was opposed by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Law Minister Veerappa Moily, as both medical and legal education were to be brought under the NCHER.

The Health Ministry argued medical education was linked to the provision of health services. The Health Ministry’s regulator, NCHRH, was asked to oversee the availability of well trained and competent medical personnel on the ground. This it was argued would only be possible if there had control over medical education. The NCHER task force argued since all education was governed by the varsity system and there were multi-disciplinary areas of research, all education should come under one regulator.

The difference of opinion resulted in an intense turf war. So much so, that the Prime Minister’s Office had to intervene to resolve the situation. In a series of meetings presided over by TKA Nair, Principal Secretary to the PMO, the two sides sought to work out a compromise.

Source: The Economic Times, February 16, 2011

Prime Minister backs medical study regulator

The government will soon introduce a bill setting up a new medical education regulator, the Prime Minister declared on Friday, signalling the end of a protracted inter-ministerial tussle over including medicine under a single higher education regulator. Manmohan Singh’s announcement suggests a setback for human resource development minister Kapil Sibal’s efforts to create a single, independent overarching higher education regulator covering all streams, including medicine, to facilitate inter-disciplinary education and research.

But successful back-channel political consultations have cleared the way for the Parliament standing committee on HRD to consider a key education reform bill that it stalled last week -bringing some relief to Sibal. ”After extensive consultations, the Ministry of Health has prepared a draft bill for setting up a National Council for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) that will be introduced soon in Parliament,” Singh said at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) convocation.

The seemingly innocuous statement carries deep political significance. The HRD ministry has been suggesting that medical education be included under a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) it has been proposing, instead of creating a separate NCHRH. The health ministry — led by Ghulam Nabi Azad — has been staunchly opposing the HRD ministry. Azad has even spoken to Singh on his concerns over giving up medical education.

The proposal for a single higher education regulator originated from the Nationa Knowledge Commission (NKC) and was reiterated by the Prime Minister-appointed panel headed by Professor Yash Pal. Based on these reports, an HRD ministry task force had earlier this year insisted that medical education be included under the NCHER — triggering a turf war with the health ministry, which said it was unwilling to give up control of medical education.

Source: Hindustan Times, October 2, 2010

Prime Minister backs medical study regulator

The government will soon introduce a bill setting up a new medical education regulator, the Prime Minister declared on Friday, signalling the end of a protracted inter-ministerial tussle over including medicine under a single higher education regulator. Manmohan Singh’s announcement suggests a setback for human resource development minister Kapil Sibal’s efforts to create a single, independent overarching higher education regulator covering all streams, including medicine, to facilitate inter-disciplinary education and research.

But successful back-channel political consultations have cleared the way for the Parliament standing committee on HRD to consider a key education reform bill that it stalled last week -bringing some relief to Sibal. ”After extensive consultations, the Ministry of Health has prepared a draft bill for setting up a National Council for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) that will be introduced soon in Parliament,” Singh said at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) convocation.

The seemingly innocuous statement carries deep political significance. The HRD ministry has been suggesting that medical education be included under a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) it has been proposing, instead of creating a separate NCHRH. The health ministry — led by Ghulam Nabi Azad — has been staunchly opposing the HRD ministry. Azad has even spoken to Singh on his concerns over giving up medical education.

The proposal for a single higher education regulator originated from the Nationa Knowledge Commission (NKC) and was reiterated by the Prime Minister-appointed panel headed by Professor Yash Pal. Based on these reports, an HRD ministry task force had earlier this year insisted that medical education be included under the NCHER — triggering a turf war with the health ministry, which said it was unwilling to give up control of medical education.

Source: Hindustan Times, October 2, 2010

Health and HRD see eye to eye on medical education

The Ministry of Health will collaborate with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on the issue of accreditation of medical education institutions. The two ministries have been at odds over the control of medical education. The new draft of the National Council for Human Resource in Health (NCHRH) has proposed a subsidiary body, the National Committee for Accreditation, which will register and accredit medical colleges. In keeping with MHRD-piloted National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, the proposed National Committee for Accreditation will seek approval from the proposed authority.

Sources said the proposed committee will frame parameters and standards for accreditation, and then have these approved by the national authority proposed by the MHRD. It is likely that this committee, in turn, could set up further agencies for accreditation, which would operate within the parameters set out by the accreditation committee of NCHRH. The Ministry of Health has made it clear that even though the accreditation of medical education institutions would stick to the system laid out in the national authority proposed by the MHRD, this should not be seen as acquiescence on the issue of regulatory oversight.

Medical education is too complicated and important and therefore regulatory structures must have technical expertise to be able to take informed decisions. Also, the proposed regulatory body National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) vests the power of deciding about institutions to universities. Accreditation of medical institutions and academic content requires technical expertise. Once the institutions are found to be acceptable by the NCHRH, the institutions can approach universities for affiliation, a senior official said.

The issue of regulatory oversight still remains unresolved.The MHRD has argued that the task force which is preparing the framework for the NCHER is keen to bring medical education under its fold. MHRD officials have argued that till the task force submits its report to the minister, no final decision on the issue can be taken. Interestingly, even as the MHRD has decided to keep the issue of regulatory oversight on medical education in abeyance, the Prime Minister’s Office has made it clear that medical education would fall within the purview of the NCHRH.

In keeping with this mandate, the Ministry of Health has reworked the NCHRH. In the proposed overarching body for the health sector, activities have been separated as much as possible. The proposed NCHRH Bill provides for setting up several subsidiary bodies each of which will independently perform one of the many essential tasks in governing medical education, all of which are currently performed by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Source: The Economic Times, July 13, 2010 (Report by Urmi A. Goswami)

Health and HRD see eye to eye on medical education

The Ministry of Health will collaborate with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on the issue of accreditation of medical education institutions. The two ministries have been at odds over the control of medical education. The new draft of the National Council for Human Resource in Health (NCHRH) has proposed a subsidiary body, the National Committee for Accreditation, which will register and accredit medical colleges. In keeping with MHRD-piloted National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, the proposed National Committee for Accreditation will seek approval from the proposed authority.

Sources said the proposed committee will frame parameters and standards for accreditation, and then have these approved by the national authority proposed by the MHRD. It is likely that this committee, in turn, could set up further agencies for accreditation, which would operate within the parameters set out by the accreditation committee of NCHRH. The Ministry of Health has made it clear that even though the accreditation of medical education institutions would stick to the system laid out in the national authority proposed by the MHRD, this should not be seen as acquiescence on the issue of regulatory oversight.

Medical education is too complicated and important and therefore regulatory structures must have technical expertise to be able to take informed decisions. Also, the proposed regulatory body National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) vests the power of deciding about institutions to universities. Accreditation of medical institutions and academic content requires technical expertise. Once the institutions are found to be acceptable by the NCHRH, the institutions can approach universities for affiliation, a senior official said.

The issue of regulatory oversight still remains unresolved.The MHRD has argued that the task force which is preparing the framework for the NCHER is keen to bring medical education under its fold. MHRD officials have argued that till the task force submits its report to the minister, no final decision on the issue can be taken. Interestingly, even as the MHRD has decided to keep the issue of regulatory oversight on medical education in abeyance, the Prime Minister’s Office has made it clear that medical education would fall within the purview of the NCHRH.

In keeping with this mandate, the Ministry of Health has reworked the NCHRH. In the proposed overarching body for the health sector, activities have been separated as much as possible. The proposed NCHRH Bill provides for setting up several subsidiary bodies each of which will independently perform one of the many essential tasks in governing medical education, all of which are currently performed by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

Source: The Economic Times, July 13, 2010 (Report by Urmi A. Goswami)

NCHER will not be a super regulator – Medical education & Law to be kept out

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be disinclined to accept the idea of setting up the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) as the higher educations super regulator. Despite best efforts by HRD minister Kapil Sibal, medical education and law will be kept out of the purview of NCHER. In the aftermath of the Ketan Desai-Medical Council of India (MCI) scandal, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) had sought to bring medical education within the ambit of the NCHER.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is learnt to be of the view that medical education should be kept under the purview of the health ministry-sponsored National Council for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH). The MHRD had cited the Yashpal Committee recommendation and that of the National Knowledge Commission to set up a regulator that would have jurisdiction over the entire spectrum of higher education. However, the PMO is clear that the such reports and recommendations cannot override government policy as enunciated in the President’s address to Parliament last June.

The MHRD’s efforts to garner total control over the higher education segment has also been opposed by health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, law minister Veerappa Moily, state governments and educationists. The MHRD’s efforts are not new. In the UPA-I government, Mr. Sibal’s predecessor Arjun Singh too sought to put in place a higher education super regulator. Mr. Singh’s efforts ran into dangerous territories as health ministry was then shepherded by A. Ramadoss of PMK and agriculture by NCPs Sharad Pawar.

The MHRD, however, is not giving up its effort to get a larger mandate. To build support for the proposed regulator, the MHRD has planned a retreat meeting on May 29. The meeting will discuss NCHER with experts for further fine tuning. It will then take the draft bill to the Central Advisory Board of Education, which is meeting on June 18 and 19. The idea is to create a critical mass of support for the proposed super regulator.

Source: The Economic Times, May 22, 2010

NCHER will not be a super regulator – Medical education & Law to be kept out

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appears to be disinclined to accept the idea of setting up the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) as the higher educations super regulator. Despite best efforts by HRD minister Kapil Sibal, medical education and law will be kept out of the purview of NCHER. In the aftermath of the Ketan Desai-Medical Council of India (MCI) scandal, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) had sought to bring medical education within the ambit of the NCHER.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is learnt to be of the view that medical education should be kept under the purview of the health ministry-sponsored National Council for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH). The MHRD had cited the Yashpal Committee recommendation and that of the National Knowledge Commission to set up a regulator that would have jurisdiction over the entire spectrum of higher education. However, the PMO is clear that the such reports and recommendations cannot override government policy as enunciated in the President’s address to Parliament last June.

The MHRD’s efforts to garner total control over the higher education segment has also been opposed by health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, law minister Veerappa Moily, state governments and educationists. The MHRD’s efforts are not new. In the UPA-I government, Mr. Sibal’s predecessor Arjun Singh too sought to put in place a higher education super regulator. Mr. Singh’s efforts ran into dangerous territories as health ministry was then shepherded by A. Ramadoss of PMK and agriculture by NCPs Sharad Pawar.

The MHRD, however, is not giving up its effort to get a larger mandate. To build support for the proposed regulator, the MHRD has planned a retreat meeting on May 29. The meeting will discuss NCHER with experts for further fine tuning. It will then take the draft bill to the Central Advisory Board of Education, which is meeting on June 18 and 19. The idea is to create a critical mass of support for the proposed super regulator.

Source: The Economic Times, May 22, 2010