Doctors have moved the Delhi High Court against the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) new regulations that allow Medical MSc and PhD holders to be appointed as faculty in core MBBS subjects.
The petition, filed by the United Doctors Front (UDF), argues that including non-medical faculty in medical education weakens its standards and violates constitutional and statutory provisions. The case will be heard by a bench led by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on August 21.
Under the newly released Medical Institutions (Qualifications of Faculty) Regulations, 2025, the NMC has permitted MSc/PhD degree holders in medical sciences to teach in Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Microbiology departments.
This marks a reversal of the 2020 decision, when NMC had sharply reduced the role of non-medical teachers. Until 2020, Medical MSc holders could be recruited in these departments up to 30% in most subjects (and 50% in Biochemistry). However, in October 2020, the cap was lowered to 15% in Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, and completely eliminated in Microbiology and Pharmacology.
In 2023, NMC again issued guidelines for new medical institutions, stating that only 15% of the faculty in Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry could be non-medical. But on July 2, 2025, an amendment to the UG-MSR 2023 restored the earlier limit, allowing MSc and PhD holders to occupy up to 30% of posts in these departments provided qualified medical teachers are not available.
