NMC adopts biometric system, ends manual inspections for medical colleges

The National Medical Commission (NMC) is set to revolutionise the assessment process for medical colleges, aiming to enhance transparency and reduce manual interference. Leveraging the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) portal, the NMC will eliminate the need for physical inspections, relying instead on data accuracy and surprise inspections.

Dr B Srinivas, Secretary of the NMC, highlighted that surprise inspections will still be conducted to verify data integrity and assess physical infrastructure. The AEBAS portal, operational for a year, tracks attendance of medical students and faculty, aiming to combat the issue of ghost faculty.

"Using data from the AEBAS dashboard will enhance transparency," stated Dr Srinivas. The NMC will consider 75 percent attendance over two months as the



norm, a significant departure from the previous practice of daily attendance checks. The new system will provide real-time data accessibility.

Furthermore, the NMC will introduce an online portal for colleges to appeal compliance-related issues. Dr. Srinivas emphasised the portal's security clearance to prevent hacking, ensuring colleges can submit data from their inception.

The NMC's recent guidelines, "Minimum Standard of Requirements for Postgraduate Courses-2023 (PGMSR-2023)," aim to tackle ghost faculty practices. The guidelines prohibit faculty from engaging in private practice during college hours, ensuring their presence for student supervision. The guidelines also mandate minimum attendance percentages for faculty and specific bed occupancy rates in hospitals affiliated with medical colleges.