New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office has
put its foot down on the proposal of scrapping the medical and
dental education regulators of the country, saying there is a
need for wider consultations before reaching any conclusion.
The Health Ministry had proposed to scrap the Medical
Council of India (MCI) and Dental Council of India (DCI),
citing alleged corruption in these regulatory bodies.
The proposal was sent to the Prime Minister's Office for
listing it before the Cabinet so that a necessary amendment
could be moved in the next session of Parliament.
The PMO, however, rejected the proposal, saying there was
no surety that the new body replacing MCI and DCI would not
develop shortcomings as of the present regulators, an official
said.
It has asked the ministry to consult more experts on the
issue and devise a plan to cleanse the existing system rather
than replacing it, sources in the ministry said.
The Health Minister has been receiving repeated
complaints about the working of the medical and dental
education regulators and widespread corruption in it.
A task force of the minister had suggested to scrap
various regulators of the medical education, including medical
Council of India, Dental Council of India, Pharmacy Council
and the Nursing Council, sources said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, September 13, 2009, 15:42