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NEW DELHI: In a move that signals tougher and more frequent scrutiny of medical colleges, the National Medical Commission has begun building a national pool of government medical college faculty who will be deployed for surprise inspections across the country, starting with approvals for the 2026–27 academic year.The initiative, rolled out by the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB), marks a shift towards unannounced, on-ground assessments as India rapidly expands undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats. Letters issued on December 22 and 26 have asked all government medical colleges to identify eligible faculty willing to serve as assessors under the NMC Act, 2019.According to the official communication, MARB will shortly begin the inspection process for undergraduate and postgraduate applications for the 2026–27 academic session. Faculty members from government medical colleges will be engaged as assessors to conduct inspections, including surprise visits, which the regulator says are critical to ensuring compliance with prescribed norms and maintaining the quality of medical education.Only faculty members eligible to act as postgraduate guides are being considered for empanelment. Eligibility will be determined as per the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications (TEQ) Regulations, 2022, and the Medical Institutions (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations, 2025. Deans and principals of all government medical colleges have been instructed to personally circulate the notice among eligible faculty and display it prominently on college notice boards.The assessor pool, once created, will not be restricted to routine inspections linked to seat approvals alone. MARB has indicated that the same group of experts may also be deployed for additional inspections and for evaluation and scrutiny of documents and reports submitted by medical colleges from time to time.To facilitate participation, the commission has clarified that both travel time and the day of inspection will be treated as official duty. Travel and lodging expenses, along with remuneration for the assignment, will be borne by the NMC.Eligible faculty members have been asked to submit their willingness through an online form within 15 days of the notice. Responsibility for ensuring timely and wide dissemination of the communication rests with the heads of institutions.The move comes amid heightened regulatory focus on infrastructure, faculty strength and clinical exposure at medical colleges, even as India continues to add new undergraduate and postgraduate seats. By creating a centralised pool of assessors and relying on surprise inspections, the regulator is signalling a tighter enforcement regime that could directly influence future approvals and recognition of medical colleges.
