The Kerala High Court on Thursday admitted a writ petition filed on behalf of 92 students who returned from China seeking a directive to allow them to do practical training and internships in any of the colleges in the State or in the country.
Justice N. Nagaresh, while admitting the petition filed by the Parents Association of Foreign Medical Graduates, issued notice to the Centre and State governments and the National Medical Commission (NMC).
According to the association, these 92 students were forced to return home during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. In fact, China was now bracing itself for another wave of pandemic and had already placed its citizens under lockdown in all major cities. It was highly unlikely that the Chinese government would be willing to reaccommodate its international students back in the universities until the nation reached the stage of zero pandemic.
ADVERTISEMENT
The association pointed out that these students were pursuing their medical course in the top universities in China which had been approved by the NMC. In fact, the infrastructure and facilities of these specific Chinese universities were on a par with the medical colleges in the country.
The students were now continuing their courses online and had not been able to do the required practical and clinical training. The commission’s recent order had approved the online classes being conducted for Indian medical students. However, it had not passed an order approving the online classes being conducted by the Chinese universities. Therefore, there was a pressing need for the Central government to intervene and protect these students by making necessary changes in the rules and regulations of the NMC, it said.
The petitioner also sought a directive to the NMC to approve the online classes being organised by the Chinese universities and direct the Union Ministry of External Affair to take steps to facilitate the return of the student to their universities to pursue their studies.
ADVERTISEMENT