Maharashtra: Compulsory Bond Service may be shifted to 2019

Mumbai: Confusion continues to prevail in the minds of fresh medical graduates of 2017, about their eligibility to sit for the NEET PG scheduled for January 7. The tumult continues to prevail due to the government resolution(GR) passed on October 12, making it compulsory for postgraduate applicants to complete their one year bond.

Though verbal assurances have been doing the rounds of fresh graduates being granted an exemption from the new rule, apprehension still prevails, as official announcement has yet to come forth.

"First, the government announced a new rule only months before the entrance exam. And now there is dilly-dallying over a decision. Medical graduates have been preparing for months now and they remain unclear over their eligibility," an MBBS from Government Medical College, Yavatmal told Indian Express.

With the NEET PG entrance test around the corner, a one-year bond service in a hospital run by the public health department has been made mandatory for both undergraduate and postgraduate pass outs from government medical colleges.

Students are often seen overlooking the compulsory bond till after post graduation. The new resolution is aimed at making sure that medical students don't skip their postings.

According to the government resolution, the 2017 government medical college MBBS pass outs were to be considered ineligible for post-graduation, as they had not completed their posting.

The government resolution was widely criticized by both parents and fresh graduates, who started an online signature campaign against it.

Parents were against the resolution, as it gave an upper hand to private medical college graduates, as they would be able to sit for the NEET exam and take over government seats, as well. The aspirants, on the other hand, complained of having been caught off guard on the timing of the announcement.

A student stated "Through our discussions with the health education minister and the department, we have been assured that there will be a two-year exemption. However, officially there has been no decision."

The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), has also appealed to the education department to amend the resolution and implement the new rule from the academic year 2019-20.

"It is true that the GR, as it stands today, favours graduates from private institutes. We have already apprised the department of the matter. A decision is likely soon," said Pravin Shinghare, Director, DMER.

Medical Education Secretary, Sanjay Deshmukh said the rules had been decided in principle and the timeline is to be finalized, reports Indian Express.