Foreign MBBS students only applies to those who have completed their medical courses, clarifies SC

As the Supreme Court directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Friday, April 29, to frame a scheme for students who have returned from foreign universities to complete their clinical training and internship in India, it also made it clear that the framework shall only apply to those students who have completed their medical education. 

The decision comes after the Supreme Court took note of the pleas filed by students who have returned from foreign universities and who have claimed their eligibility to pursue a year's internship in India. The Supreme Court Bench was hearing a plea by the NMC against a Madras High Court order directing that instead of three months, two months of clinical training would be sufficient to grant temporary registrations.

Here's how the cases stood: Most of these students had stated that they have already completed nine semesters of their academic course including clinical training on their respective campuses. However, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical training for the subjects of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Nuclear Medicine in the tenth semester was done online, after which they have been granted the degree of Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). They claimed that they have qualified in all the subjects as per the teaching plan till May 2020, by the respective foreign institutes.

A student also said that she had qualified in the Screening Test, in terms of the Screening Test Regulations, and thus, the condition in the statute read with the Screening Regulations stands satisfied. In view of this, she challenged that the decision of the Medical Council not to grant provisional registration is not justified in law. 

During the hearing, the Bench observed that qualifying in the Screening Regulations was no proof of the clinical experience gained by the students. It added that the Screening Exam is based upon Optical Mark Reader (OMR) answers and has no correlation with any practical training, as reported by ENS.

And in view of this, the NMC has been directed to formulate a framework in favour of the students who have completed their medical courses from foreign universities. The NMC has been given two months' time to come up with the same, so as to screen students suitably and check if they are eligible for a year's internship in India. Additionally, provisions shall be made for such students to complete their practical training.