Bonded for two years
The Odisha government is to launch a system by which medical students would have to execute a two year bond for admission into PG courses in medical colleges.
According to a government resolution, both fresh and in-service candidates must sign the bond for gaining admission to PG courses in government medical colleges and dental colleges. This is applicable if the admission is on state or all India basis quota. The rule will be implemented starting from the next academic session.
According to the guidelines, it would be mandatory for the doctors to work in the government hospitals for at least two years after PG. If the rule is violated, double the money spent on stipend or scholarship would be recovered from the in-service candidates. And if a candidate quits the seat after PG admission, s/he will have to pay double the money for stipend or study, aside from Rs. 10 Lakh as a fine for the seat vacancy.
If, after the PG course a candidate gets the opportunity for higher study, s/he should file a declaration which states tht the person would work in the government hospitals in the state. Once the declaration is made, the candidate is entitled to a College Leaving Certificate(CLC) for their higher studies. If they fail to meet the guideline, the money would be recovered from them.
From one year to three year bond
Meanwhile, in Kerala, the government has enforced a 3 year compulsory bond for PG medical students. It’s said that the rule will come into effect from the current academic year. Until last year, the bond for medical PGs was one year after finishing the course.
To protest against the government’s move, junior doctors from six medical colleges plan to go on strike. In fact, a token strike was done on Tuesday. It’s said that the PG doctors plan on an indefinite strike from March 13.
“We are prepared to take up government jobs permanently. But first let the authorities give us jobs. They seem to be only interested in getting senior residents by enforcing bond,” said Dr Rahul U. R,. leader of Kerala Medical PG Association (KMPGA).
“Instead of creating new posts and making appointments through PSC, the authorities were running hospitals with junior and senior residents. At the moment there are 545 vacancies in the medical education sector and most of them are assistant professor-level posts,” said Dr P. S. Jinesh of Kottayam medical college.
On Friday, the finance minister announced the creation of 1,345 posts of doctors in the health sector. However, in the medical education sector, the announced number is just 45. This decision came at a time when the rush of patients to medical colleges is rising by 10 percent per annum.
The authorities say that the 3 year bond decision was taken because of shortage of senior residents in medical college hospitals. The terms and conditions, including the remuneration would be decided by the government. Service in state government or PSU or central government won’t merit relaxation in the compulsory service. The exception is with defense services.