New NCISM rules for Ayush colleges, fines for ‘paper’ faculty

Bhopal: National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has issued a strict punitive policy for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (AYUSH) colleges effective from the 2026–27 academic year, putting recognition and undergraduate seats at risk for several institutions in Madhya Pradesh, the commission said in a circular after its 160th board meeting.“This punitive policy is welcome for accountability, but AYUSH colleges across Madhya Pradesh are grappling with a shortage of teachers,” said Dr Rakesh Pandey, national spokesperson for the AYUSH Medical Association, urging NCISM and union Ministry of AYUSH to consider a 10–20 percent relaxation in norms, according to a press release.Signed by NCISM President Dr Mukul Patel, the circular mandates Aadhaar‑Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) or an Iris‑based system for all teaching, non‑teaching and hospital staff and requires on‑site inspections.

Colleges that fail to install biometric systems may have recognition cancelled for the inspected session, and those that refuse inspection will lose permission and recognition for that session.The policy imposes heavy penalties for “paper” faculty: institutions will face a fine of ₹25 lakh per teacher found to exist only on paper and the teacher will be barred from holding a teacher code for one year. For every instance of faculty deficiency, sanctioned seats will be reduced by 5 percent; negligence in hospital operations could trigger seat reductions up to 30 percent.

Madhya Pradesh — home to a sizable number of AYUSH colleges and thousands of students — is listed. State AYUSH colleges, both government and private, some have long reported teaching‑staff shortages and infrastructure gaps, raising concern that the new rules could cause.