The new NCAHP Act 2021 bans online and distance learning in key allied healthcare fields, including psychology, microbiology, nutrition, and more, starting July-August 2025. The aim? To ensure strict quality—but in reality, this move excludes countless learners who depend on flexible, remote education: working professionals, rural students, second-career aspirants, or those with unique life journeys.
Just like in the epic story of Ekalavya and Guru Drona, where skill, determination, and real-world experience were denied official recognition, the act values classroom attendance over the rich insights gained from actual lived experience. Ekalavya’s self-taught excellence drives home the point: true skill isn’t found only inside the classroom—it’s shaped by effort, context, and a willingness to serve society, often outside traditional routes.
This act ignores:
The vital importance of life experience and community practice, especially in psychology and allied care, where empathy and lived wisdom matter most.
The needs of marginalised and second-career students, many of whom bring powerful perspectives to mental health and healthcare, but are pushed out by rigid rules.
The diversity and accessibility that online learning fuels, democratizing knowledge and creating practitioners who serve with heart and lived expertise.
The question is simple: Are we gatekeeping talent and empathy by insisting that skill can only exist in formal classrooms? Or will we learn from Ekalavya—embracing innovation, life experience, and new pathways for healthcare education?
Tune in, share your thoughts, and be part of the conversation for a more inclusive, compassionate futurel
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