TN medical seat renewal in red due to resident, faculty attendance lag

CHENNAI: Following the National Medical Commission's (NMC) action over deficiencies in faculty and resident doctors' attendance at state-run institutes, the renewal of MBBS seats in Tamil Nadu's government medical colleges hangs by a thread.

The central body on medical education had issued show-cause notices to all 36 government-run medical colleges in the state after keenly scrutinising their annual declarations for 2025-26.

The records under the Aadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) revealed a common key deficiency across all colleges. All these colleges were observed to have inadequate faculty and resident doctor attendance under the AEBAS.

Deducing the attendance deficiency, the National Medical Commission subsequently held a personal hearing with State Health Secretary P Senthilkumar and the Director of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Dr E Theranirajan.

As a result, the NMC has granted only a conditional renewal of MBBS seats for these colleges. The renewal is contingent upon the institutions rectifying the attendance deficiencies within four months.

Responding to the crisis, Dr Theranirajan has issued a stern directive to the deans and principals of all government medical and dental colleges. He mandated strict monitoring of attendance (individual, cadre, department, and overall) and emphasised that faculty and residents must maintain a minimum of 75 per cent attendance before being granted leave, except in emergencies. He warned of stringent action if deficiencies persist.

The circular read, "The deans and principals must monitor the attendance percentage of all the faculty and residents (individual-wise, cadre-wise, department-wise and overall) and ensure the attendance over and above 75 per cent before grant of leave other than emergency situation."

The colleges include Stanley Medical College, Madras Medical College, Kilpauk Medical College, Chengalpattu Medical College, Coimbatore Medical College, and Thanjavur Medical College.

The AEBAS data also revealed alarming patterns. In April, 581 doctors had collectively logged in for only 344 hours at the Chengalpattu Medical College, with 37 clocking in for less than one minute and 23 for less than ten minutes.

Coimbatore Medical College reported deficiencies in 16 out of 20 departments based on AEBAS data, alongside faculty shortages in two departments and senior resident shortages in 13.

Many college authorities acknowledged the issue. Dr A Nirmala, Dean of Coimbatore Medical College, stated they have held meetings instructing faculty to meet the 75 per cent minimum requirement and are requesting higher officials to fill vacancies identified by the NMC.

A dean from a city government college added, "The explanation has already been given to the NMC, and the issues would be sorted out soon."