7.5 years for MBBS degree?

In a major blow to MBBS students in the country, MCI (Medical Council of India) has proposed to increase the years to pursue an MBBS degree from 4.5 years to 7.5 years. According to the notification, students after Class 12th will have to undergo 4.5 years of MBBS course besides 2 years of internship and 1 year rural posting that would be compulsory to be eligible to appear in post graduate entrance examination for admission to MD/MS courses.

The proposal has led to nation-wide protests with MBBS students joining the same from every nook and corner of the country. According to students, 7.5 years MBBS is equal to a 'Death Sentence' and that the decision would ultimately affect the quality of the services delivered by the doctors.

Amidst the entire hullabaloo going around the matter, shiksha.com caught up with Delhi based students and union heads to know the current status and government’s probe into the matter.

Aishwarya Rathore, a current student at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science), Delhi informed, “The Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, had agreed to meet the students at around 12:30 pm. As a result of the meeting, the proposal has been suspended as of now, but can come back anytime. Moreover, we haven’t got anything in written, be it an agreement or a press release.”

She added, “We are on an indefinite strike and will continue the same, if this issue is not resolved and until and unless the order is suspended forever. I mean, this is not a joke. 7.5 years? It’s longer than any other course, in any other stream in the country. When students from other streams like engineering will be married and earning well, we will not even be graduates by then.”

Backing her up, Kushagra Pathak, Union Head of AIIMS said, “The minister is just being manipulative and is manipulating us. Everything is so easy for them. Our future is at stake”.

The protests in Delhi have been joined by union heads of various medical institutes including AIIMS, MAMC (Maulana Azad Medical College), VMMC (Vardhman Mahavir Medical College), Lady Hardinge and UCMS (University College of Medical Sciences). Besides the union heads, the protest has received support from residency doctors from these institutes.  The PG doctors joining the protestors have received tremendous appreciation and also have supported the cause in a great way. “These PG students or what you call them as residency doctors have nothing to do with our issue but still they came and supported us in our cause. They have promised us to be there till the final conclusion is out, “said a pleased MBBS student at the protest.

Talking about her take on rural posting, future course of action and expectations from the government, Rathore said, “We do not have any issues with the rural postings but it should be included in our PG curriculum and after we are graduates, at-least. Bringing in two years of compulsory internship is just not needed. We don’t expect the government to think only about doctors but their course of action should be populist. For working in a rural area, we need proper infrastructure and better security. Will they provide us? “.

“Few months back, we were on strike for making the rural internship compulsory but the media portrayed a negative image of ours. They called us incompetent and that we were running away from rural areas. But that was never the case”, she added.

“We are not IAS or IPS officers, we are medical students and we want to study and make our future. We are bearing everything, from lathi charges to water canes here at the protest. Students have suffered ruptures, fractures and bruises here. But the government isn’t ready to assure anything”, added another fuming student.

Here, take a look at the copy of the letter duly signed by the MCI official.