Rural stint a must now for med students

MUMBAI: The medical education department released a circular on Tuesday and stated that starting academic year 2022-2023, MBBS graduates-students from governmentfunded institutes, as well as those whose fees are subsidised in private medical colleges--will have to compulsorily complete their one-year rural stint after completing their course.

This means that the graduating batch of 2027-28 can’t get away from serving in a rural area by paying a fine of ₹10 lakh.

“The state spends crores on providing the best quality education to students at a subsidised amount every year. The rural stint was introduced so these students can then use their skills to bring relief to people in rural parts of the state. But we have noticed that many students are simply paying a fine of ₹10 lakh,” stated the circular dated June 13 and added that ‘social responsibility service’ is henceforth mandatory.

“Candidates who took admissions in the 2021-22 academic year will have to follow the prevailing norms of that time,” the circular further added.

The issue first came to the fore in 2017, when it was found that nearly 4,500 MBBS graduates between 2001 and 2011 skipped their rural stint. This prompted the state government to release a government resolution (GR) in January 2018, penalising skipping the mandatory rural stint with the fine of ₹10 lakh.

“Sadly, thousands of students in the last four years agreed to pay the fine instead of serving the society, which needs to change,” said an official from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).

Dr Rishab R is among those who gave the rural stint a miss. Having cleared his MBBS from a civic-run institute in Mumbai last year, he is all set to start his post-graduation in a Us-based university this year. “Opting for the rural stint would mean a gap of an extra year between my undergraduate and postgraduate education. After consulting with my seniors, I decided to pay the penalty and apply for higher education instead. Once I complete this course, my aim is to work in rural areas for some time to garner experience,” said Rishab.

Many activists lauded the state government’s latest move. “This move will majorly help medical centres in rural areas,” said Sudha Shenoy, activist.

While the five-and-a-halfyear course already entails a 12-month compulsory internship, this rural stint will add another year.