
"My parents spent all their savings and funded my medical education. I urge the government to revoke the compulsory rural bond policy," implored a 2018 batch student of the Kasturba Medical College (KMC) Manipal on condition of anonymity. KMC is a constituent private medical college under the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).
The students allege they were not informed about the bond while taking admission into the MBBS course. Additionally, now they are being asked to sign an affidavit for undertaking compulsory rural service for one year and submit an NOC issued by the Bond Enforcement Cell, Arogya Soudha to obtain their permanent registration with the Karnataka Medical Council.
Therefore, the students approached the Karnataka High Court against the state authorities for imposing a compulsory rural bond service on the students. Earlier, EdexLive reported that the students are trying to get their case listed for Tuesday, May 14, as it wasn't heard by the vacation bench in the last two hearings.
Speaking to EdexLive, the student said, "It cannot be done overnight. This kind of information has to be given in advance or at least during the time of admissions."
"Even competitive exams are coming up. NOC (No Objection Certificate) is very important for seeking permanent registration with the Karnataka Medical Council. The state government cannot impose compulsory rural bond policy now," the student, who is preparing for NEET PG (National Eligibility Entrance Test for Post Graduation) 2024 objected.
Hailing from a middle-class family, the student expects cancellation of the compulsory rural bond policy. "We were not informed about it before and we are not ready for it now," he said.
Similarly, another student said, "It took five and a half years to get to this point and we have at least four more years to go till we get a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or a Master of Surgery (MS) degree."
"Most of us are 23 or 24 now and have recently completed pursuing our bachelor's degree and now, have to attempt another ruthless entrance exam to secure a master's degree. But we are being told we have to serve an additional bond year or pay Rs 15 lakh," she complained.
Rural betterment?
Refuting the claims by the government that the bond is for the betterment of the rural population, the student said, "They claim it's for the betterment of the rural population and they're assigning the doctors based on a merit list." She alleged that students who top the merit list can refuse to serve the bond period and that they are permitted to do so. This resulted in the remaining students being compelled to serve the bond year or pay several lakhs to escape it.
"And even if you are spared this year, in case of an emergency befalls in three years, the government is allowed to call you anytime or you might incur a Rs 15 lakh fine," she alleges.
Further, she claims, "It's not a meritocratic system. It's not exactly for the betterment of people."
In conclusion, she said, "We are still helping people by serving as junior residents in colleges and we want to complete our education by the time we are 30 and start paying off the loans we took to fund our education."