Should people with disabilities be allowed to practise medicine, is the question currently doing the rounds following an amendment notification that seeks to prevent those with certain disabilities from getting admitted to MBBS.
The Union Health Ministry’s revised regulations prohibit those with locomotor disabilities above 80 per cent from getting admitted to MBBS. Candidates with blood disorders or those with neurological conditions with disability over 80 per cent too are deemed ineligible.
While the government’s intentions are good, it has been found to be lacking in sensitivity. It should have called various stakeholders before bringing in such amendments in order to get a more nuanced understanding of the issue.
Activists have called these regulations discriminatory and hold them to be in contempt of Supreme Court directions. They also find them to be in violation of the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The government must not indulge in any sort of discrimination; neither should it hold preconceived notions and prejudices. There are several renowned doctors with disabilities doing a fine job of treating and curing patients. The most heart-wrenching case is that of Doctor Mohammad Shaloo, with 90 per cent disability, who had finished his MBBS last year and had also cleared NEET and even finished counselling for post-graduation specialisation in radio diagnosis.
Now, thanks to the government notification, he is not even a medical student. The government should be open about making amendments now that the notifications have backfired.