In 1906, the Calcutta University decided to discontinue the examination for the License in Medicine and Surgery which has been held since 1861 and to restrict the functions of the university to the examinations for the degrees of M.B. , M.D. and M.O. The decision was formed after an exhaustive enquiry had been made into medical education through out India by Surgeon –General Sir G. Bomford with whose recommendations practically every University in India concurred. The last L.M.S. Examination was therefore held in 1911, though the failed students were allowed to appear up to 1913; but it soon became evident that while it is desirable that the University should encourage a high standard of medical education by putting before its students only the highest form of qualification.There is still room for a hall-mark or the license to practice intermediate between this high qualification and the certificate given at the Government medical schools.
In England there are many degrees of qualification below the highest, and it was realized that the abolition of the L.M.S. Examination must result either in lowering the standard of the M.B. or in shutting out a considerable body of candidates who, while unable to attain to the highest qualifications are yet above the standard of those who pass out from the Government medical schools and are quite capable of profiting by a wider course of training than that prescribed for those schools.
To meet the situation one possible alternative was to reverse the decision of the University in 1906 and reinstitute the L.M.S. Examination; but the reasons which led to that decision have still as much force as ever, and no University in England or on the Continent concerns itself with the grant of qualifications in medicine and surgery lower than a degree. The Governor in Council has therefore, decided that the proper course is to establish a separate body to be called “The State Medical Faculty”, which shall examine and certify to the qualifications of those medical students who are unable to attain to the high standard required for the M.B. degree. An additional advantage of this course will be the possibility of standardizing the examination of candidates from the government medical schools and from those private medical schools whose equipment and training may justify them in aspiring to a registrable qualification for their students.
The Bengal Medical act, Which was passed last April, has conferred upon the Bengal Council of Medical Registration, the duties of general supervision over the interest of the medical profession and the progress of medical education and it rests with that body to decide whether training and equipment o a school or college are such as to justify the grant of a registrable qualification to its successful students, it is undesirable that the functions of this Council which is largely elective and is the first step towards self-government in the profession, should be trenched upon by any other body, and the responsibilities of the State Medical Faculty will therefore be confined to arranging for the examination of students from colleges and schools, which have been approved for this purpose by the Council of Medical Registration. The State Medical Faculty will grant a diploma of membership and a license, the former corresponding to the L.M.S. and the latter to the certificate given by the Government medical Schools, and it is expected that the council of Medical Registration will recognize these qualification as registrable under section 18(a) of the Bengal Medical act and thus avoid the multiplicity of title and qualifications which would otherwise be necessary when private schools and colleges are approved by the Council. As the state medical Faculty will be purely an examining body and it is desirable that their diploma and License should have the weight of Government authority, the Governing Body will be appointer by His Excellency in Council.
The Statutes and Bye-laws of the State Medical Faculty which is hereby constituted are published in Bengal Government Resolution – No. 2545 Medl. dated the 11th August 1914.
To meet the situation one possible alternative was to reverse the decision of the University in 1906 and reinstitute the L.M.S. Examination; but the reasons which led to that decision have still as much force as ever, and no University in England or on the Continent concerns itself with the grant of qualifications in medicine and surgery lower than a degree. The Governor in Council has therefore, decided that the proper course is to establish a separate body to be called “The State Medical Faculty”, which shall examine and certify to the qualifications of those medical students who are unable to attain to the high standard required for the M.B. degree. An additional advantage of this course will be the possibility of standardizing the examination of candidates from the government medical schools and from those private medical schools whose equipment and training may justify them in aspiring to a registrable qualification for their students.
The Bengal Medical act, Which was passed last April, has conferred upon the Bengal Council of Medical Registration, the duties of general supervision over the interest of the medical profession and the progress of medical education and it rests with that body to decide whether training and equipment o a school or college are such as to justify the grant of a registrable qualification to its successful students, it is undesirable that the functions of this Council which is largely elective and is the first step towards self-government in the profession, should be trenched upon by any other body, and the responsibilities of the State Medical Faculty will therefore be confined to arranging for the examination of students from colleges and schools, which have been approved for this purpose by the Council of Medical Registration. The State Medical Faculty will grant a diploma of membership and a license, the former corresponding to the L.M.S. and the latter to the certificate given by the Government medical Schools, and it is expected that the council of Medical Registration will recognize these qualification as registrable under section 18(a) of the Bengal Medical act and thus avoid the multiplicity of title and qualifications which would otherwise be necessary when private schools and colleges are approved by the Council. As the state medical Faculty will be purely an examining body and it is desirable that their diploma and License should have the weight of Government authority, the Governing Body will be appointer by His Excellency in Council.
The Statutes and Bye-laws of the State Medical Faculty which is hereby constituted are published in Bengal Government Resolution – No. 2545 Medl. dated the 11th August 1914.