The issue regarding the bond policy for MBBS graduates in Haryana was mentioned in the Rajya Sabha today, December 13, during the Parliament's winter session. The issue was raised by Member of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Sushil Kumar Gupta.
Gupta, who raised the matter in the Upper House as an "Urgent Matter of Public Importance" asked Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya to ensure that a single policy is written for and followed by medical students all across the country. He pointed out that even though the National Medical Commission (NMC) had recommended the scrapping of the bond policy given the changes in the medical education and healthcare system since its introduction, the Government of Haryana had merely reduced the penalty amount from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 30 lakh, and the period of service in state-run hospitals for MBBS and PG medical graduates from seven years to five years. Calling this move a "compromise", Gupta said that hundreds of students have been on strike in Haryana, demanding that the policy be scrapped.
In his reply, Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare said that the policy was a state subject. He also added that medical graduates should be given the "opportunity to serve" after they complete their education.
Dr Karan Juneja, National Secretary of the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network (IMA JDN) told EdexLive that the protesting doctors at the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) Rohtak had contacted Gupta yesterday, December 12, requesting intervention in the matter. "More than 100 students are still on hunger strike at PGMIS Rohtak and three other affiliated medical colleges. The government is asking students to compromise on professional dignity and healthcare in the state. The students are essentially being asked to take a loan from a private bank (IDBI Bank in this case) or serve for five years. The mental health of these students is at risk. We have also filed a PIL," he added.
The bond policy of the Haryana government for medical graduates requires students in government medical colleges to deposit Rs 40 lakh (now reduced to Rs 30 lakh) by initiating a loan with IDBI Bank. The students are then asked to serve for seven years (now reduced to five years) at government hospitals in order to ensure they have job opportunities right after they graduate and to cater to the requirements of these hospitals. However, the students now claim that there are not enough jobs at state-run medical colleges and the bond policy dilutes "merit", excluding those students who cannot afford to deposit that amount at the time of their admission from those opportunities. The PIL has been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
