After Maharishi Charak Sapath, the National Medical Council (NMC) has issued a circular directing all teachings hospitals across the country to implement yoga training mandatorily during weeklong foundation course for all batches of MBBS students triggering controversy among medical community.
The circular issued by the NMC on 31 March also directed medical colleges saying: “Yoga practices shall be maximum 1 hour every day during the period of 10 days, beginning from 12 June every year to be culminated on International Yoga day, 21st June, to be celebrated in all medical schools across the country. These may be practiced by all batches of MBBS.”
The commission has also stated that the yoga model would be available to all colleges by UGMEB-NMC. However, colleges may adopt their own modules. It has also recommended family adoption programme as a part of curriculum of community medicine and should begin from the first year undergraduate medical course and remain throughout the course of four-and-a-half years. MBBS students would have to make field visits to community health centres for eight hours that is already allocated to foundation course in GMER 2019.
The circular has prompted different doctors’ bodies to launch protest against the move. Medical Service Centre (MSC) has threatened to launch state-wide protest against the NMC’s recommendation for Yoga in foundation course of MBBS students. “This is an attempt to saffronise the medical curriculum and we strongly protest the move,” MSC said.
“Medical fraternity across the country has earlier protested against the NMC’s attempt to implement ‘Maharishi Charak Sapath’, replacing the centuries-old Hippocratic oath, with home-grown Charak sapath and yoga in medical colleges. Unfortunately, the commission ignored our protest and saffronise medical curriculum with issuing such unscientific circular,” said Dr Manas Gumta, secretary of Association of Health Service Doctors.