One-year rural posting: Medical students challenge rule, online plea gets 1,600 signatures

The new rule aims at keeping a check on this practice. (Representational)

MEDICAL GRADUATES of the 2017 batch, who are aspiring to take up post-graduate (PG) courses, have challenged the state government’s decision of making one-year rural service mandatory for PG applicants. An online petition, started by the parent of one such graduate, has received over 1,600 signatures. It is mandatory for students of government medical colleges — pursuing both under-graduate and post-graduate courses — to serve a one-year bond service in a hospital run by the public health department of the state. However, students are known to skip these postings or postpone them till after post-graduation.

The new rule aims at keeping a check on this practice. A Government Resolution (GR) was issued to this effect was issued by the Department of Medical Education and Drugs on October 12. As per the GR, the new rule will be in force for admissions taking place for the 2018-19 academic session. This puts the MBBS graduates of the 2017 batch, who had decided to complete their rural posting after PG, at a disadvantage.

The development comes two months ahead of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for PG admissions. The petition was started by Muzaffar Khan, whose son graduated from a government medical college in Yavatmal this year. Khan has also filed an online grievance with the department of medical education and drugs.

Khan said, “We have asked the government to reconsider its decision. The announcement came very late and my son had already started preparing for NEET. He will lose a year if the rule is to be applied.”

The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), meanwhile, also wrote to the department to amend the GR and implement the new rule from the 2019-20 academic year. Since, the bond service does not apply to graduates of private medical colleges, they will be able to apply for PG, he added. He said if the petition does not bear a result, he will resort to a legal recourse.

Pravin Shinghare, director, DMER, said, “It is true that the GR, as it stands today, favours graduates from private institutes. We have already apprised the department of the matter.”

Medical Education Secretary Sanjay Deshmukh said the rules have been decided in principle and the timeline is to be finalised. “By next week, we will come up with a decision on whether to implement it for the academic year 2018-19 or 2019-20,” he said.