Context
- AYUSH medical education is expanding rapidly, with the private sector accounting for 86% of Ayurveda colleges and 85% of homoeopathy colleges in 2024.
- Between 2021 and 2024, permitted seats increased by 43%, while total admission capacity rose by 25%.
- During the same period, the Centre’s AYURGYAN allocation for AYUSH education, training, research, innovation and capacity-building increased nearly sixfold.
Persistent Quality Concerns
- Quality concerns in AYUSH education predate the recent expansion and relate not only to academic preparation but also to the quality of training, infrastructure and the practices students are trained to undertake.
- A 2005 Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit found widespread shortages of hospital beds, outpatient services and staff in homoeopathy colleges; bed occupancy ranged from just 1% to 71%.
- A 2020 study in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine reported that many AYUSH institutions had a teaching-staff shortfall exceeding 50% against prescribed standards.
- The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has repeatedly withheld or denied permission to institutions after inspections identified deficiencies in faculty strength and infrastructure.
Private-Sector Expansion and Regulatory Risks
- Heavy private-sector dominance creates concerns that institutions may have financial incentives to maximise student intake without proportionately expanding faculty, laboratories and other infrastructure.
- As of August 21, NCISM had denied permission to 17 Ayurveda colleges, all private, with several cited for non-compliance with inspection requirements.
- In Hillside Ayurveda Medical College (2023), the Karnataka High Court noted the possibility of educational institutions admitting excess students for financial gains.
- The National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) gave 41% of homoeopathy colleges its lowest grade, including nearly half of all private institutions.
Key Regulatory Concerns
- AYUSH education faces persistent problems involving inadequate or disputed faculty strength, deficiencies in infrastructure, inspection non-compliance and irregularities in student intake.
- There have also been allegations of fictitious faculty, raising concerns about institutions meeting regulatory requirements only on paper.
- Although the existing inspections demonstrate that the regulatory framework can identify and penalise deficiencies, persistent non-compliance indicates the need for stronger quality control.
Relevant Institutions
- National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM): Statutory regulatory body responsible for regulating education and professional standards relating to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa systems.
- National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH): Statutory regulator for homoeopathic education and professional practice, including standards for institutions and assessment.
- Both commissions use inspections, permissions and grading/standards mechanisms to ensure compliance by medical institutions.
Way Forward
- Strengthen periodic inspections, faculty verification, infrastructure audits and student-intake controls, with penalties for repeated violations.
- Reconsider the incentive structure for private institutions so that expansion in seats is linked to demonstrable improvements in faculty, laboratories, clinical facilities and training quality.
- AYUSH education should also maintain appropriate standards of scientific evidence, research, clinical validation and evidence-based practice, particularly where medicinal claims affect public health.
- Rapid expansion should therefore be accompanied by quality assurance, rather than being assessed only through the number of colleges and seats created.
