MBBS student who threatened suicide to get counselling
The country’s medical education regulator has asked a Karnataka college to provide counselling to a second year MBBS student who has threatened suicide after his admission was cancelled because of a severe visual disability.
The Medical Council of India (MCI) was examining if Suresh could be cured though on face of it, the condition seemed incurable, an official said on Monday.
“If so, then there is no way we can allow the student to continue MBBS because our norms are very clear ...” the official said.
As reported by HT, 19-year-old Suresh, who hails from Raichur in Karnataka, can’t see beyond 8cm. He threatened suicide after the MCI found his condition too severe for a doctor and cancelled his admission to the Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences.
He was given admission against seats set aside for disabled students. In its letter, a copy of which is with HT, the MCI has asked the college and Raichur district magistrate to handle the case sensitively.
NEWDELHI:
The cancellation order came on June 26, 2017 after Suresh had completed the first of the five years of the medical programme.
MCI rules say the only disability allowed in medical colleges is of the lower limbs, and a candidate has to fall under the 50%-70% severity to be eligible for a reserved seat. Parliament in December 2016 passed a bill providing 5% reservation without exception to the disabled in all educational institutes. Suresh can’t benefit however as it came into force in April 2017, almost a year after he joined the college.
The Kalaburagi bench of Karnataka HC, where Suresh challenged the cancellation, allowed him to continue the course till its final decision, expected in February 2018.