In an attempt to bring in more transparency and put a check on ghost faculties in medical colleges, Medical Council of India announced a digitization initiative on Friday for tracking real-time daily attendance of faculties in medical colleges across the country.
Under the digital mission mode project (DMMP), the medical education regulator plans to monitor attendance of faculty members in about 439 medical colleges through a bio-metric system.
The regulator also plans to issue electronic radio frequency identification (RFID) registration card to doctors for their documentation which will enable them to practice across the country by registering once with MCI.
MCI president Jayshree Mehta expressed that the most remarkable thing of this particular project is monitoring of attendance of medical faculty through a bio-metric system and a unique identification for each and every medical practitioner across the entire country.
The digitization project, apart from enabling online submission of applications for opening of new medical colleges or seat enhancement, will create a national database of faculty in medical colleges which will be linked with their Aadhar Card and have bio metric verification. Mehta also notified that the total project involving a real-time medical register, issuing of IDs and other tasks under this project has a budgetary allocation of Rs 45 crore and will be completed in the next six months.
MCI secretary Reena Nayyar on the other hand notified that the RFID registration cards will be issued to all registered medical practitioners in the country .
Nayyar further mentioned that this will enable registered doctors to have a documented proof of their registration at all times and facilitate working of medical practitioners across all the country under `One Country One Registration’.
Further, the availability of information on real-time basis regarding pendency of penal proceedings against the medical practitioners on the website will be available which shall further enhance the strict enforcement of ethical code of conduct.
By Baishakhi Dutta
