After the Medical Council of India (MCI) was dissolved by the Union Health Ministry,the Dental Council of India (DCI) and the Nursing Council of India (INC) are set to meet the same fate. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has reportedly told senior officials in the Ministry to start the process of dissolving them. As per the records assessed by The Sunday Express,Minister of State,Dinesh Trivedi had written a letter to Azad last month citing the need to dissolve both the councils due to complaints of malpractices in the regulatory bodies. Azad has in turn asked the Health Secretary to initiate the process. Officials in the Health Ministry pointed out that dissolving the councils was a necessity in any case due to the proposed umbrella body,the National Council for Human Resource in Health. I have been told that there are many cases where it is said that genuinely deserving institutions are denied recognition even after one round of inspections by the team sent by the concerned councils. At the same time there are cases where it is alleged that undeserving institutions without proper infrastructure and faculty have been granted recognition. This needs to be checked and we need to initiate some reforms without further delay, Trivedis letter says. Citing that reforms in MCI (dissolution) have been appreciated,Trivedi said that similar reforms are long overdue to mitigate the harassment of students,parents and the administrators of the various institutions. The Ministry had dissolved the MCI in May this year after then president Dr Ketan Desai was charged in a corruption case. Trivedi goes on to say that the Ministry may promulgate ordinances for DCI,INC,and expedite creation of an overarching body.
