In a positive step towards transparency, accountability and vigilance awareness in the medical education arena in the country, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has opened a 'Vigilance Corner' on the Council's website www.mciindia.org. which will facilitate the general public and its stakeholders to effectively communicate with the Vigilance Division of the Council.

The Corner provides details about the structure and functioning of the vigilance in the Council. It also provides for a complaint handling policy and provides for guidelines to the complainants in this regard. This will facilitate the general public and its stakeholders to effectively communicate with the Vigilance Division of the Council.

The Corner would share the activities and events organized by the Vigilance Division with its stakeholders. It provides a link to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Right to Information webportel.

Dr RS Shukla, joint secretary & chief vigilance officer, union health ministry, inaugurated the "Vigilance Corner" recently in the presence of the chairman, Board of Governors Prof. (Dr) K K Talwar and the members of the Board of Governors.

The opening of a 'Vigilance Corner' is a significant step by the MCI as there have been complaints about several irregularities in the MCI. It may be recalled that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April 2010 had arrested the then MCI president Dr Ketan Desai and two others for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs.2 crore to grant recognition to a medical college in Punjab.

The gravity of corruption in the medical education system in the country can be gauged from the fact that the union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in June 2010 had cautioned the then Board of Governors of the MCI headed by renowned medical expert Dr SK Sarin about the touts in the field of medical education who are being used by the managements of some interested institutions to get clearances for their colleges by illegal means.

“One of the most important issues I would like to highlight, is that there are a large number of touts in the field of medical education who are being used by the managements of some interested institutions to get clearances for their colleges by illegal means. These touts collect money from interested institutions in the name of the Government, office bearers and the Members of the Medical Council of India thereby bringing bad name to both the Government and the Medical Council of India. As such I would like you to caution the members of the newly constituted Board of Governors that they have to be vigilant and keep their eyes open since their every step is being watched by the entire country with high expectations,” Azad had cautioned the new board of governors, which had come into existence through a special ordinance by the President of India after dissolving the old MCI body headed by the tainted Dr Ketan Desai.