NMC: In a major decision impacting medical education in Jammu & Kashmir, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has withdrawn its approval for the MBBS programme at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Reasi for the academic year 2025-26. The regulatory move effectively cancels the previously granted permission for the college to admit 50 MBBS students, due to serious non-compliance with national medical education standards.
Reason Behind The Step
The NMC’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) conducted a surprise inspection after receiving multiple complaints about the institution. The assessment found that the college fell far short of prescribed norms concerning infrastructure, faculty strength, and clinical resources.
Key deficiencies noted in the inspection report included:
- Significant shortfall in teaching staff and clinical tutors.
- Inadequate patient load and bed occupancy well below the minimum standards required for clinical training.
- Insufficient laboratories, lecture halls, library resources, and essential hospital facilities such as MDR-TB management units.
- Many departments lacked necessary practical or research lab infrastructure.
Under NMC rules, new medical colleges with a 50-seat MBBS intake must meet the decided Minimum Standard Requirements (MSR) for infrastructure, staffing, and patient services, including a 220-bed teaching hospital with specified outpatient load and bed occupancy thresholds at all times.
Read Also: NMC New Regulations 2025: Practical Guide for Medical Colleges and Students
What Next
To protect the interests of students already admitted through the NEET-UG merit list, the NMC has ordered that all 50 enrolled students be transferred to other recognized government medical colleges within the Union Territory. These transfers will be made using supernumerary seats, meaning they are additional to the regular sanctioned strength of the receiving institutions.
Join NEET News 2026 The commission has also directed the encashment of the college’s performance bank guarantee (a financial safeguard meant to ensure compliance with statutory norms and standards).
Institution’s Response
Officials from the institute have contested the findings, claiming that observed shortfalls were partly due to a surprise inspection being conducted during winter vacations when some faculty members were on leave. However, the NMC maintained that compliance must be continuous and consistent.
What This Means Going Forward
The decision comes amid heightened debate and protest in the region over the composition of the college’s first MBBS batch. A significant proportion of admitted students belonged to the Muslim community, a fact that sparked protests and political scrutiny locally.
While the NMC’s official rationale centered on regulatory compliance and quality of education, regional political reactions have mixed interpretations of the move.
The incident highlights challenges faced by emerging medical institutions in meeting comprehensive infrastructure and clinical norms.
The NMC’s decision underscores its enforcement of quality standards for medical education, especially for new medical colleges.
Affected students will continue their medical education in other institutions with minimal disruption.
