The students told the court that they were neither being allowed to attain physical training and internships in India, nor was there any clarity regarding recognition of the online theory classes that they attended. (Representative image) The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre and the National Medical Commission (NMC) to respond to a petition, filed by Indian students of medicine enrolled in a Chinese university, seeking directions to allow them to undertake practical training in India as they are unable to return to China due to pandemic travel restrictions.
The division bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh listed the case for hearing on March 21.
The petition was filed by a total of 147 Indian students enrolled in Ningbo University in China. They had returned to India in early 2020, and have not been able to travel back to China since then.
The petition pointed out that the NMC had recognised online theory classes for MBBS students of Indian institutes and had also clarified that such online theory classes are required to be supplemented by practical and clinical training as and when the colleges physically reopen.
However, the petition stated that under the NMC advisory, students who studied from a foreign medical institution must complete their practical training from the same institution in order to get registered to practice medicine in India.
The students told the court that they were neither being allowed to attain physical training and internships in India, nor was there any clarity regarding recognition of the online theory classes that they attended. The petitioners also said they were not even allowed to transfer from China to any other foreign university in view of the regulations in India.
“During these unprecedented times of medical emergency arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic, the future of Indian citizens who are medical students in China is being put at stake,” the petition read.
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