Compulsory For All MBBS Students In This State To Work In Rural Location For 1 Year: They Can’t Pay & Skip

On Tuesday, the medical education department Mumbai released a circular stating MBBS graduates, students from government  funded institutes, as well as those whose fees are subsidized in private medical colleges will have to compulsorily complete their one-year rural stint after completing their course starting academic year 2022-2023.

Compulsory Rural Stint

In simple words, the graduating batch of 2027-28 can’t get away from serving in a rural area by paying a fine of Rs 10 lakh.

Further, the circular dated June 13 stated that “The state spends crores on providing the best quality education to students at a subsidized 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 Rs 10 lakh,”.

Adding that ‘social responsibility service’ is henceforth mandatory. So, “Candidates who took admissions in the 2021-22 academic year will have to follow the prevailing norms of that time,”.

Not The First Time

First Time, this issue was highlighted in 2017, when nearly 4,500 MBBS graduates between 2001 and 2011 skipped their rural stint. 

The event had prompted the state government to release a government resolution (GR) in January 2018 in which they penalized skipping the mandatory rural stint with a fine of Rs 10 lakh.

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

Gap Between Studies

From the medical students point of view, consider the case of Dr Rishab R, who is among the doctors who gave the rural stint a miss. 

Presently, he is all set to start his post-graduation in a US-based university this year as cleared his MBBS from a civic-run institute in Mumbai last year. 

According to him, “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,”.

The move of mandatory rural stint is highly praised by many activists. 

The activist, Sudha Shenoy said,“This move will majorly help medical centers in rural areas,”.