Ensuring quality with quantity in medical education is India’s biggest challenge, says NMC chairman

Ensuring quality alongside quantity in India’s medical education system is the country’s biggest challenge, said Abhijat Sheth, chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC), highlighting plans to expand MBBS seats while simultaneously improving postgraduate opportunities, competency-based training and digital learning. He was speaking at the 86th foundation day celebrations of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Hyderabad City branch at AIG Hospitals here.

Dr. Sheth said the NMC’s fundamental role is to maintain high-quality medical education through policies, coordination with State medical commissions, and expert guidance to the government. For the academic year 2025-26, NMC has approved 1.23 lakh MBBS seats. Responding to concerns about potential dilution of quality, he said, “Numbers are critical both for sustaining quality and ensuring equitable access. Every undergraduate should have an opportunity to pursue postgraduate education.”

He acknowledged persistent gaps in postgraduate training due to faculty shortages and divided learning resources. Dr. Sheth highlighted that undergraduate and postgraduate seats should ideally be in a 1:1 ratio to maintain both quality and opportunity. He also recognised criticism over exam patterns, particularly excessive negative marking and called for reforms that ensure fair evaluation without compromising standards.

Highlighting NMC’s focus on competency-based medical education, he said future training will supplement traditional teaching with skill labs, virtual training, digital learning and artificial intelligence applications. “These tools will complement, not replace, physical education and will help develop speciality-specific and subspeciality-specific skills. Communication skills, medical ethics, empathy and clinical research must be core, non-optional components of training,” he added.

Dr. Sheth also underlined the need to ease outdated barriers. Land and infrastructure requirements that once made sense now restrict growth, he said, adding that accreditation processes will be simplified so institutions can focus on teaching, learning and student support without unnecessary hurdles.

He also highlighted the need to recognise medical talent, maintain balanced regulation and improve coordination between national and State bodies. Warning against overly rapid reforms, he said, “Too rapid and radical changes without proper planning create confusion. Reforms must be gradual and well thought out, similar to how sudden changes affected the Soviet Union during Perestroika.”

Looking ahead, Dr. Sheth identified three key tasks for NMC — addressing numbers in a balanced way, easing unnecessary barriers and reinforcing quality in learning, teaching and infrastructure. Institutional support, such as hostels for younger undergraduate students, remains a priority.