During annual inspection of some of the new medical colleges in the south, the MCI found that several teachers were part of the full-time teaching faculty of other colleges too.

Besides the 65 suspended teachers, who are in the process of being informed of the council's decision, cases of around 30-40 more teaching doctors are under scrutiny.

"Apparently, the medical colleges and the medical teachers were indulging in such activities only to show to the inspection team of the council that the colleges concerned are fulfilling the minimum requirement for the teaching staff," A.R.N. Setalvad, secretary of the MCI, said.

"Most of the fraudulent cases were noticed in the new medical colleges. In the last five years a large number of medical colleges have come up in the southern states. Till the new colleges get recognition, they have annual inspections," Setalvad told IANS.

The ongoing inspections in medical colleges across the country are expected to bring to light more such cases, he said.

The medical council has 229 medical colleges under its care. Of them, a sizeable number are private colleges established in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

A dozen of the new colleges have so far been found to be guilty of the fraudulent practice. Shortage of qualified teaching staff of over five percent can result in the medical college losing its licence.

"If left unchecked, they run the risk of turning out doctors lacking proper exposure and training and be a risk to patients," said Setalvad, a retired armed forces doctor.

In the case of recognised medical colleges, inspection of the teaching faculty is done every five years.

At a general body meeting last month, the MCI decided to act tough to "curb such unscrupulous tendencies" of medical teachers giving false declarations of working full-time in more than one college.

"The situation does not brook any lenience in this regard and deserves to be dealt with by a heavy hand. No doctor should ever be allowed to make such false declaration," the MCI stated.

A large majority of the 65 medical teachers, whose practising licences will also be suspended till July 31, 2007, are registered with the Andhra Medical Council.

To curb such practices, the MCI has followed up its suspension orders by publishing the names of the medical teachers on its website.  The list is also being sent to the directors of medical education in all the states, universities, medical colleges and institutions to bar their employment for the next two years and nine months.

"We hope our deterrent step, taken for the first time, will ensure that medical colleges do not indulge in such practices and the students benefit by having a full strength of teachers," Setalvad said.

-Indo-Asian News Service