Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A shortage of teaching staff and failure to meet prescribed standards have put the recognition of more than 15% of private Ayurveda colleges in jeopardy for the 2026-27 academic session. Madhya Pradesh has 39 Ayurveda colleges, at present.
Dr Rakesh Pandey, national spokesman of Ayush Doctors Association, said, "Ayurveda colleges will now have to comply with National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) directives, otherwise they will lose recognition for one year, 2026-27. The NCISM team is carrying out inspection."
Government Ayurveda colleges in Burhanpur and Jabalpur are facing shortages of faculty and facilities. Students have raised the issue several times, according to Ayurveda college doctors. Similarly, many private Ayurveda colleges are also facing a shortage of teaching staff.
The problem has worsened as the new NCISM regulations penalise "paper faculty" with heavy fines and seat reductions. Under the new rules, if an institute does not have Aadhaar-Enabled Biometric Attendance System with iris scanning for teaching, non-teaching and hospital staff, its recognition for that inspection session could be revoked. If a college refuses to undergo inspection, its permission and recognition for the session will be cancelled.
If a teacher is found to exist only "on paper" (ghost faculty), a fine of Rs 25 lakh per faculty member will be imposed, and the teacher will be barred for one year. If a teacher is found to be "on paper" for three consecutive years, the teacher code will be permanently cancelled. For every instance of insufficient teaching faculty, the total number of recognised seats will be reduced by 5%. Negligence in hospital operations could lead to a reduction of up to 30% in seat intake.
Joint Director (Ayush) Dr Pankaj Gupta informed Free Press, “ NCISM is central body and Ayurved colleges will have to follow its directive. Definitely, colleges specially private ones may lose recognition if they have not fulfilled requirement as per NCISM standard.”
