The Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a body under the Department of Ayush recently notified minimum standard norms for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) colleges wanting to get conditional permission for the academic session 2011-12.

Only those colleges that follow these norms while forwarding the cases to the Department for conditional permission under section 13C and 13A of the IMCC Act, 1970 for the academic session 2011-12 shall be given permission to commence.

Notifying requirements for the teaching and non teaching staff for Post Graduate (PG) ASU colleges it states that all Ayurveda and Siddha colleges are required to be recommended on the basis of provisions notified in the PG regulations for Ayurveda entitled ‘The Indian Medicine Central Council (Postgraduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2005’, except for the two modifications which are separately being notified.

Giving information on the same it says, “The students teachers ratio of 1:3 shall be allowed instead of 1:2 in case of professor for PG students to be admitted per year. And minimum annual average bed occupancy in the IPD of the hospital shall be at least 50 per cent instead of 60 per cent.”

As per the notification, the minimum standard requirements needed for the teaching staff for the Under Graduate (UG) course is at least 90 per cent of the total requisite teaching staff as per the CCIM’s draft norms with no minimum requirement of teachers from modern faculty and  50 per cent higher faculty which includes professor and reader of the total required higher faculty staff as per the CCIM’s draft norms. It also stresses that at any given time there should be availability of at least one teacher in each Department.

Stating the parameters for the number of beds for teaching hospitals  for UG ASU colleges notification states, “For hospitals of Ayurveda and Siddha colleges, student bed ratio must be 1:2 for a minimum 100 bedded hospital. Whereas for hospitals of Unani colleges the student bed ratio should be 1:1, though, minimum 50 bedded hospital is required in all.”

Whereas for PG course in Ayurveda and Siddha minimum 150 beds are required including 50 beds for 10  PG seats in clinical subjects with UG intake capacity of  50 students. However, number of beds in hospital for PG seats in clinical subjects will be maintained in 1:5 student bed ratio in addition to beds required for UG seats.

For the Unani PG courses minimum 75 beds are required including 25 beds for five PG seats in clinical subjects with UG intake capacity of 50 students. However, total number of beds in hospital for PG seats in clinical subjects will be maintained in 1:5 student-bed ratio in addition to beds required for UG seats.

The notification specifies that for the OPD attendance of teaching hospital for UG and PG course in ASU colleges it is necessary that the daily average OPD attendance of the OPDs will be required on an average 100 patients per day during 1st January 2010 to 31st December, 2010.

Whereas the bed occupancy in IPD of teaching hospital for UG ASU colleges should be minimum 40 per cent bed occupancy during 1st January 2010 to 31st December, 2010. Whereas for the PG there should be minimum 50 per cent bed occupancy during period from 1st January, 2010 to 31st December, 2010.  

All the provisions both measurable and non measurable as contained in the Indian Medicine Central Council (Postgraduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2005 shall be examined by CCIM before sending their recommendation. At the same time all Unani colleges are required to be recommended on the basis of provisions as is notified in the PG regulations for Unani entitled ‘The Indian Medicine Central Council (Postgraduate Unani Education) Regulations, 2007’.