NMC cautions students against fake medical colleges, forged approval letters

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has cautioned students and parents against taking admission to medical colleges or making payments without checking the institutions' authenticity and regulatory approval, as per PTI.The advisory follows instances of institutions offering medical courses without statutory permission. It was issued in compliance with Supreme Court directions in the ongoing Ayesha Jain v Amity University, Noida and Others case.The Supreme Court had directed regulatory bodies, including the NMC, to warn students and parents against dealing with educational institutions without first verifying their authenticity.

The direction came in the context of a reported case involving a purported fake medical college operating from a farmhouse and claiming to offer various courses.The commission said students and parents should "exercise due diligence and verify the authenticity and regulatory status of any institution" before seeking admission, enrolling in or making any payment for a medical course, PTI reported. CHECK COLLEGE APPROVAL AND SANCTIONED MBBS SEATSStudents seeking admission to MBBS courses should check whether the college is included in the NMC's official list of medical colleges and whether it has permission to admit students for the relevant academic year.The commission cautioned that a college's presence on an official list or its operation in an earlier year "shall not, by itself, be treated as confirmation of permission to admit students for every subsequent academic year or beyond the approved intake".

Students should independently verify the permission status, course and number of approved seats through official NMC and Medical Assessment and Rating Board records. They should not rely solely on brochures, websites, advertisements, social media posts or purported permission and approval letters circulated by institutions or their representatives.USE OFFICIAL COUNSELLING CHANNELS, AVOID UNAUTHORISED AGENTSFor admissions covered by counselling procedures, candidates should use official channels, including the Medical Counselling Committee or the relevant state or Union Territory counselling authority.

The commission also warned against making admission-related payments to unauthorised agents, personal bank accounts or unverified intermediaries."Approval, affiliation, registration or recognition granted by one authority for a particular purpose should not be construed as permission from the National Medical Commission to conduct an MBBS course," the advisory said.REPORT FAKE COLLEGES AND FRAUDULENT ADMISSION OFFERSThe NMC urged students and parents to report suspected fake medical colleges, unauthorised MBBS courses, forged permission letters, fraudulent admission offers or misleading claims to the commission and other competent authorities.It also clarified that courses such as pharmacy, nursing, Ayurveda, and allied and healthcare programmes come under different statutory or competent regulatory authorities. Their regulatory status should be checked with the authority concerned."Timely verification and reporting of suspected fraudulent activities are essential to protect students from financial loss, prevent misuse of the name of statutory authorities and safeguard the standards and integrity of medical education," the NMC said.The commission reiterated that students and parents must verify a medical college's approval, course permission and sanctioned intake through official records before seeking admission or making any payment.- Ends