Over 70 days after graduating, around 3,500 MBBS students of 2015 batch, who had got a medical seat through CET, are yet to receive their Karnataka Medical Council (KMC) registration without which they cannot practice.
This is because medical colleges have withheld their original documents (marks cards) that they had submitted at the time of admission. Without the original documents, the graduating candidates cannot apply for KMC registration. Upset with this, the candidates started a Twitter and Instagram campaign #doctorsdeniedlicence; #weneedKMCregistration on Tuesday, which is gaining good traction.
Medical colleges say they acted on instructions from the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) asking them to withhold the students’ documents till there is clarity on mandatory rural service.
In a letter dated February 15, P.G. Girish, director of Medical Education, wrote to the dean and directors of government and private medical colleges in Karnataka asking them not to release the original documents collected from students at the time of admission, until further instructions from the DME.
Referring to the Karnataka Compulsory Service by Candidates Completed Medical Courses Act, 2012, which mandates one compulsory government service, the letter stated: “The legislation mandates that all candidates should take up compulsory training service after having completed medical courses covering undergraduate, post-graduate degree/diploma and super speciality courses in various disciplines, failing which penalty ranging ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh is to be paid by the defaulting candidates. As a step in the direction of enforcing the legislation, colleges have been asked to withhold the original documents.”
Demanding that their documents be released, the students, who have come together under the banner of Karnataka Association of House Surgeons (KAHS), are planning to meet Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar on Thursday.
Surya B.N., a graduate from Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences and an executive committee member of KAHS, said the issue of compulsory rural service is before the High Court and it will take time till a judgment is passed. “We are ready to abide by the court’s judgment when it comes. We want our rightful KMC registration now so that we can start practising. We cannot afford to be a burden on our parents even after graduating,” he said.
Another graduate from Belagavi Government Medical College, said although nearly 7,000 medical students worked tirelessly without a break during the first COVID-19 outbreak, they are forced to sit home without work during the second wave. “We put in our best in the last five-and-a-half years to complete the course and now, we are yet to be registered,” he said.
Mr. Girish said there was confusion about rural service due to different court judgments. “A meeting has been convened on Thursday by Mr. Sudhakar to discuss this with officials and get the confusion cleared,” he said, adding that a final decision will be taken thereafter.
