The NMC has urged students to verify a medical college’s approval for the current academic year and avoid fraudulent admission offers, unauthorised agents and forged documents

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has warned students and parents against falling victim to fake medical colleges, fraudulent admission offers and forged approval documents, following a Supreme Court case involving a purported medical college allegedly operating from a farmhouse.In an advisory, the medical regulator said some institutions were offering medical and allied courses without the requisite statutory approval or recognition. Misleading advertisements, websites, social media promotions and unauthorised admission offers could leave students and parents vulnerable to fraud, it cautioned.The warning follows the Supreme Court’s intervention in Ayesha Jain vs Amity University, Noida & Others, in which it directed regulatory bodies, including the NMC, to alert students and parents against enrolling in institutions without first verifying their authenticity.The NMC has specifically cautioned that a college figuring on its official list does not necessarily mean it has permission to admit students for the current academic year. Students must check the college’s approval for the relevant year and its sanctioned intake through official NMC and Medical Assessment and Rating Board records.

It has also advised candidates not to rely on brochures, websites, advertisements or purported Letters of Permission circulated by institutions. Admissions should be pursued through official counselling channels, including the Medical Counselling Committee wherever applicable, or the respective state counselling authorities.The regulator has warned against making payments to unauthorised agents, personal bank accounts or unverified intermediaries. It has also clarified that approval or affiliation from another authority cannot be treated as NMC permission to run an MBBS course.Students can report suspected fake colleges, forged approval letters and fraudulent admission offers to the NMC, state medical education departments or local police.