NMC warns medical colleges after MBBS student’s death due to alleged ragging in Gujarat | X
Mumbai: The National Medical Council (NMC) on Monday warned medical colleges of strict action if they failed to implement robust anti-ragging mechanisms. The warning by the medical education supervising body comes in the wake of a tragic incident of the death of an 18-year-old first-year MBBS student who allegedly died because of ragging.
Anil Natwarbhai Methaniya, a student at GMERS Medical College at Dharpur in Gujarat’s Patan district, was allegedly made to stand for over three hours as part of alleged ragging by seniors, after which he died. Taking cognisance of the tragic incident, the NMC issued an advisory on Monday asking all institutes to “implement robust anti-ragging mechanisms”.
“Such occurrences highlight the urgent need for stringent implementation of antiragging measures to ensure students’ safety and well-being. Ragging violates physical, moral and legal boundaries, and such incidents severely tarnish the reputation of academic institutions,” the NMC said.
It also informed medical institutions that the body was receiving numerous complaints regarding ragging involving undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical students.
“These complaints include cases of mental harassment and even instances leading to suicide. Reports are received through the NMC’s Anti-Ragging Cell, the UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline, and social and print media,” the NMC said, adding: “Commonly reported acts include disorderly conduct, teasing, coercion, and undisciplined activities.”
The NMC had on November 18, 2021 notified the rules called “the Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Medical Colleges and Institutions Regulations, 2021”. The regulations bind the institutes to prohibit and prevent ragging by ensuring specific measures, which include the formation of anti-ragging squads on campuses.
“Despite these clear regulations, lapses in compliance have been observed, including: Inadequate monitoring mechanisms, absence of Anti-Ragging Squads, failure to submit Annual Anti-Ragging Reports, insufficient steps to eradicate ragging effectively. Such non-compliance undermines the regulatory framework and poses risk to students’ safety and institutional integrity,” said the letter signed by Vijay Oza, the president of NMC’s post-graduate medical education board (PGMEB).
The NMC urged the medical institutes to constitute and activate anti-ragging squads to “monitor and identify ragging activities”, ensure widespread awareness among faculty, staff, and students about anti-ragging policies and submit annual anti-ragging reports in a timely manner.
Further urging the institutes to establish a safe and conducive learning environment, free from any form of harassment, it warned, “non-compliance of these regulations will be dealt with strictly, as per the provisions of the Prevention and Prohibition of Ragging in Medical Colleges and Institutions Regulations, 2021.”
