Supreme Court upholds mandatory rural service policy for MBBS, PG medical students

Supreme Court has upheld the policy in respect to compulsory rural tenure for MBBS students who are graduating from Government Medical College. The court has appreciated the policy and said it is the right step to make sure the availability of quality healthcare services in rural parts of India. On the other hand, Supreme Court has asked the central government to formulate the same policy that will be applicable to Postgraduate medical students who are pursuing their degree courses in government medical colleges.

As it is compulsory for MBBS graduates to serve a minimum tenure in rural areas, now, students of PG medical courses will also have to sign a bond at the time of admission committing service of a minimum tenure in Rural India. According to the bond, medical students will have to provide their service in assigned rural areas, healthcare centres and public hospitals for a minimum period as mentioned in the bond. In a special case where students fail to serve in rural areas, they will have to a set penalty.

The Supreme Court has also appreciated the move of Central Government of spending huge amount of its education budget in establishing medical colleges and starting medical courses at affordable fees for the students. To say the least, as the government spends a lot in producing quality doctors, it is the responsibility of medical students to serve the rural areas of India for a minimum period for better healthcare in the respective regions.

As of now, several state governments, including Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal have implemented the policy for MBBS students.