Controversy over MBBS syllabus! NMC had to withdraw its steps, what was the government going to teach medical students

Medical MBBS CBME Syllabus NMC Withdrawn: The changes that were going to happen in the medical education system in India will not happen now. The MBBS syllabus will not change now. After strong opposition to the CBME curriculum guidelines in medical education, the National Medical Commission has had to withdraw its steps. The National Medical Commission was going to implement the medical syllabus from this year 2024. But in a notice issued on September 5, 2024, NMC has said that the new instructions have been canceled. It is clear that the commission has had to take this step in view of the opposition to the things that were said in this curriculum.

What was in the CBME Medical Education Guidelines?

The decision to withdraw the guidelines comes after protests from transgender and disability rights groups. The groups had criticised the new guidelines for MBBS students. They called them discriminatory and biased towards transgender and differently-abled persons. The guidelines were said to promote “ableist” and “transphobic” attitudes in medical studies.

The new Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) guidelines for medical education in India were sought to be amended as they were not in line with global standards. They also violate recent legal precedents in India. They included terms like ‘Sodomy’, ‘Lesbianism’ and ‘Transvestism’ as sexual offences. These have been classified as ‘unnatural’ sexual offences. In addition, the guidelines classify cross-dressing as a “perversion”, placing it alongside serious crimes like ‘Voyeurism’ and ‘Necrophilia’.

against court orders

These NMC guidelines also contradict the 2018 Supreme Court verdict that decriminalised homosexual relations by scrapping Section 377 of the IPC. It also contradicts the progressive stance taken by India on LGBTQ+ rights. The move also reverses a 2022 Madras High Court order that struck down such classification.

The National Medical Commission has written in the new notice, ‘The circular dated 31 August 2024, which talked about issuing the CBME 2024 guidelines, is withdrawn and canceled with immediate effect. These guidelines will be revised and uploaded again in the coming time.’