More than 350 doctors passing out of Gujarat GMC's skipped rural service: Govt
Medical students in Gujarat government medical colleges sign a bond policy promising that they will serve in rural areas for one year after completing their course. As per the report, more than 350 doctors of Gujarat government medical colleges have skipped the bond condition of serving in rural areas after they completed their course.
In Gujarat, all medical students studying in the state-run medical colleges sign a bond that they will serve in rural areas for one year after completing their medical course. They can break the bond by paying the state government INR 20 lakh after completing their MBBS course and INR 40 lakh after completing their post-graduation. However, the Gujarat government informed the Legislative Assembly on Monday that more than 350 doctors who passed out of Gujarat GMCs have not served in the rural areas as per the bond condition.
State Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said while responding to a set of questions by Congress MLAs during Question Hour that as on December 31, 2022, the state government is yet to recover INR 18.25 crore from 359 doctors who had broken the bond and refused to serve in rural areas, as reported by The Print.
"The state government has recovered INR 139 crore from such doctors in the last three years and legal steps were also initiated against them," he added.
Patel also said that to prevent fresh medical graduates from starting a private practice, the state government does not issue required clearances and certificates until they pay the bond money.
“Without the clearance, they cannot start private service. But we have seen that most of the MBBS students, who skip rural service, start preparing for NEET to get admission into PG courses. If they get admission to PG courses, they are again required to sign another bond of Rs 40 lakh, promising to serve for a year in rural areas,” the minister said.
“To encourage PG doctors to serve in our hospitals, we have decided to change this rule of two years of rural service. Now, PG doctors will be exempted from paying INR 60 lakh if they serve for one-and-a-half years in villages instead of two years,” he added.
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