National Commission for Homoeopathy Released BHMS Regulations 2022, Read Details Here

New Delhi: The National Commission for Homoeopathy has released the National Commission for Homoeopathy [Homoeopathy Graduate Degree Course - Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS)] Regulations - 2022, which provides a defining framework for the BHMS courses.

The regulations, which became effective after being published in the Gazette on December 07, 2022, set down the requirements and procedures for admission to BHMS programmes at institutions all around the nation.

In addition, the length of the BHMS programme, the format of the course work, and the methods for incorporating contemporary advances in technology, research, and homoeopathy have all been covered in detail.

The Commission has also provided details regarding general guidelines for exams, results, and re-admission to the BHMS course, as well as information regarding university exams, assessment procedures, assessment schemes, student mobility during their studies, mandatory rotational internship training, the maintenance of an electronic logbook, the evaluation of internship programmes, leave for interns, completion of internships, the academic calendar, and tuition fees etc.

According to the rules, securing a 50th percentile score on the NEET test is now required for admission to BHMS. While admittance to BHMS programmes will be based on merit, the course will last for five years and six months, including a required 12-month rotatory internship programme.

Eligibility Requirements and Admission Process

The Regulations mandated the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as a requirement for BHMS admissions, stating that there shall be a uniform Entrance Examination for all Homoeopathy Medical Institution namely NEET for admission to under-graduate course in medical institution in each academic year and shall be conducted by an authority designated by the National Commission for Homoeopathy.

According to the rules, candidates must pass the 10+2 test, or an equivalent exam, from any recognised Board with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, with a minimum of 50% marks combined in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Biotechnology for students in the General category. However, students from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes must get a minimum score of 40% marks. The general category students with disability will have to secure 45% marks in the examination.

Additionally, the applicants who want to pursue biology or biotechnology as an additional subject in high school will also be taken into consideration for admission. However, Open School graduates or applicants who are private candidates are not permitted to take the NEET exam.

The Commission established the age requirement as being Seventeen, and further stated that no candidate shall be considered for admission in Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (B.H.M.S.) Course unless the candidate attains the age of seventeen years on or before the 31st day of December of the year of admission in the first year of the Course.

Provided that for candidates who are foreign nationals, any other equivalent qualification that has been authorised by the Central Government may be accepted for admission and sub-regulation (2) of regulation 4 shall not be applicable in this behalf, the regulations stated.

According to the aforementioned regulations, the minimum NEET score needed for admission to BHMS is that no applicant for admission who scored below the 50th percentile on the NEET for UG Courses conducted for the relevant academic year will be taken into consideration.

As long as the candidate who belongs to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes receives grades that are at least 40 percent above the national average and the candidate who belongs to the person with a disability as defined by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 (49 of 2016) receives grades that are at least 45 percent above the national average in the case of the General category and at least 40 percent above the national average in the case of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes shall be considered for admission.

However, the Commission did add the following clarification that the Commission may, in consultation with the Central Government, lower the marks required for admission to undergraduate courses for candidates belonging to respective categories and marks so lowered by the Commission shall be applicable for that academic year.

The admission to BHMS programmes will be determined by merit. According to the rules, an All-India common merit list as well as State-wise merit lists of the eligible candidate shall be prepared on the basis of the marks obtained in the NEET conducted for the academic year and the candidate within the respective category shall be considered for admission to undergraduate course from the said merit list.

The regulations specified that the seat matrix for admission in the Government institution, Government-aided institution, and private Institution must be fifteen percent for the all-India quota and eighty-five percent for the State quota and Union territory quota as may be.

Further, the regulations stated that admittance to BHMS programmes must be based on counselling, which must be provided by the organisation that the Central Government has recognised.

Duration of B.H.M.S. Programme:

According to the commission's requirement, the Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (B.H.M.S.) Course will last five years and six months. The course's first year's duration has only been set at 18 months. The duration for each of the rest of the course year has been fixed at twelve months including the Internship programme.

Pattern of Study:

The requirements provide that the BHMS course must include both the main programme and electives. The regulations also specified that "total teaching hours for first professional session shall be not less than two thousand one hundred and six (2106) while for second, third and fourth professional session, a minimum of one thousand four hundred and four (1404) hours teaching in each professional session to complete.

The regulations stated that the working hours may be increased by the University or medical institution as required to finish the stipulated period of teaching and necessary activity.

Methodology for supplementing modern advancement, research and technology in Homoeopathy (SMART-Hom.):

According to the regulations, in order to accomplish the supplementation of modern advancement, scientific, and technological developments in Homoeopathy System of Medicine, all the thirteen departments as mentioned in table 2 of regulation 7 shall be supplemented, enriched, and updated with relevant and appropriate advancement or development in the area of diagnostic tools, complementary and alternative medicine, and telemedicine.

General Instructions for Examinations, Results and Re-admission:

The Commission has also established a number of broad standards for exams, results, and re-admission to BHMS programmes. The following are some important instructions:

Examinations for the Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (B.H.M.S) Course must be administered by the University or other organisations designated by the Commission.
The examining body must ensure that the minimum number of hours for lectures, demonstrations, practicals, seminars, etc. in the subject in each B.H.M.S. examination specified in these regulations are adhered before allowing a medical institution to send a student for a university examination.
In order to sit for an exam, each student must maintain a minimum attendance rate of 75% in each course, broken down into theory, lecture, practical, clinical, and non-lecture hours.
Internal evaluation exams will be administered by the medical institution during the first, second, third, and fourth professional years of the B.H.M.S.
Only practical exams may be used for internal assessment, which shall count for 10% of the overall points allotted for each topic in the main university examination.
It is mandatory for every student to pass with a minimum fifty percent marks in the internal assessment examination before filling the final university examination form of the respective professional year and Head of medical institution shall send the marks of internal assessment and term test to the university prior to final examination of any professional year.
A student must pass all four professional tests, be qualified in six electives, and complete the Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (B.H.M.S) programme, internship included, in no more than 10 years to be eligible to enter the Compulsory Rotatory Internship programme.
The theoretical exam will consist of ten percent of multiple-choice questions, forty percent of short answer questions, fifty percent of long explanatory questions, and these questions will cover a wide range of topics, among other things.

The Commission has included information regarding the grading system, regular and supplemental exams, the hiring procedure for external and internal examiners, as well as a number of other crucial data, under the general rules.

Compulsory Rotatory Internship Training:

The regulations for the Mandatory Rotatory Internship Training stated that within a year of passing the fourth B.H.M.S. examination, each candidate must complete a required rotational internship, which includes internship orientation and a finishing programme.

The internship training will typically start on the first working day of April for students in the normal batch and the first working day of September for students in the supplemental batch.

Moreover, the regulations stated that a student would be qualified to enrol in the mandatory internship programme after passing all subjects in the First through Fourth (Final) Professional Examination, including six electives, and receiving a Provisional Degree Certificate from the appropriate University and a Provisional Registration Certificate from the appropriate State Board or Council for Compulsory Rotatory Internship.

It continued stating that during the internship, the interns belonging to institutions of the Central Government, State Government, or Union territory as the case may be, and all private homoeopathic medical colleges/institutions shall be eligible to get the stipend at par with other medical systems under respective Governments and there shall not be any discrepancy between medical systems.

In addition, the Commission has discussed the goals of the orientation programme, the activities involved in the internship programme, and other topics.

Direct Link: BHMS Regulations 2022

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