Public favours Haryana's bond policy for MBBS students

Tribune News Service

Geetanjali Gayatri

Chandigarh, December 2

The bond policy may not have gone down well with the MBBS students of the state, but the public sentiment seems in favour of the policy. Though students and some organisations have been protesting against the government move for over a month, experts see it as a “win-win situation” for both sides.

Subsidised education

When these students get subsidised education at the expense of the taxpayers’ money, they must as well serve the public. Those who don’t want to do so are free to pay the bond money. — Capt Iqbal Singh Kadyan (Retd), Karnal resident

While it will meet the shortage of doctors and take them to the rural areas besides boosting health facilities, students also stand to gain by way of getting the benefit of rural practice when it comes to pursuing their post-graduation courses.

Former Director General of Health Services Dr Narinder Arora maintained that the state government showed flexibility when it said that a student could pursue any post-graduate course during the five-year bond period.

“Counting of the period of post-graduation towards bond period is certainly a welcome step as it will allow students to pursue higher studies in continuity with the MBBS course. That way, they will not be at any disadvantage when it comes to their academic career,” he said.

“Moreover, students who fail to get admission to a post-graduation course immediately after the completion of their MBBS degree can utilise their bond period of at least two years of compulsory service in a rural area for getting the benefit of reservation in NEET for post-graduation,” Dr Arora maintained.

Karnal resident Capt Iqbal Singh Kadyan (Retd) is staunchly in favour of the bond policy. “There are hardly any doctors in rural areas where vacancies are aplenty. If the government does not bring this policy, none of these doctors will ever go to the rural areas. When these students get subsidised education at the expense of the taxpayers’ money, they must as well serve the public. Those who don’t want to do so are free to pay the bond money,” he said.

Rohtak resident Karamvir Siwach’s son is pursuing MBBS from Russia. Opining that a degree from a foreign country costs a lot of money, he said those enjoying the benefit of subsidised education should be made to serve in government hospitals.

“The protest by MBBS students is not justified. Five to seven years is a reasonable period when so much money has been spent on them,” he said.

According to information, every medical student’s education in a government institution costs around Rs 1.25 crore while the government is only asking for Rs 30-lakh bond, which also includes the college fee.

“In effect, a student has a bond of Rs 25 lakh. We have also proposed that this be on pro rata basis where they have to pay only for the time period they do not serve. A further concession of 10 per cent has been offered to the girl students and the government has included the PG duration in five years itself. We are willing to provide contractual employment within one year and have also provided that a student will not have to pay the bond money till his salary is equivalent to that of a medical officer,” a senior officer in the government said.

The students, on the other hand, maintained that they were not against serving in rural areas, but wanted the five-year period reduced to one year, besides a job guarantee.

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