Will MP Govt follow NMC’s recommendation to scrap ‘seat-leaving bond’ policy?

Bhopal: The National Medical Commission’s (NMC) recent recommendation to states and Union Territories to scrap the ‘seat-leaving bond’ policy in medical colleges is a ray of hope for medical students pursuing their MBBS or PG degrees in Madhya Pradesh.

The concept of seat leaving bond, a common practice for medical students especially PG students, was started to secure commitment, discourage abrupt resignations, and address the issue of seat blocking and wastage of medical seats.

Notably, the Madhya Pradesh Government has fixed a bond amount of Rs. 30 lakh for students who wish to leave their course midway. This policy is prevalent in both government-run and private medical colleges.

Medical students including junior doctors in Madhya Pradesh have been demanding scrapping of the decades-old ‘seat-leaving bond’ for several years as it has affected the lives of medical students in Madhya Pradesh.

For instance, in January last year, a 24-year-old doctor Akanksha Maheshwari, who was pursuing her PG in paediatrics, and wanted to quit mid-session committed suicide at her hostel room in Bhopal’s Gandhi Medical College (GMC) as she was unable to pay the bond amount of Rs 30 lakh.

In her suicide note on WhatsApp, Dr. Maheshwari wrote to her father, “Sorry Papa, If I had money, I could have left the seat.”

Before that unfortunate incident, IANS had learnt that one male doctor, who was also pursuing post-graduation in the paediatrics stream, left the seat after paying the Rs 30 lakh bond to the state government.

Following the death of Dr. Maheshwari, a junior doctor association of Madhya Pradesh had staged a protest to press for their demand for scrapping the bond policy.

Following the three-day-long sit-in by doctors and medical professors across the state, the then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP Government had promised to review the policy.

The NMC made this recommendation during a recent meeting to the States and UTs to do away with the bond policy considering numerous complaints relating to alarming levels of stress, anxiety and depression faced by medical students across various institutions.

Dr. Akash Soni, a junior doctor, who is pursuing his PG in Gandhi Medical College (GMC), said, “It’s a much-needed step by the NMC. Let’s see how the state government responds to it. Health is completely a state issue and the state government is free to decide on its own. We hope the MP Government takes the right step.”

The MP Government, however, is yet to make any announcement in this regard.

Talking to IANS, Dr. Soni added, “In April 2023, we submitted our recommendation to the state government saying that students should be given ample time to decide after first counseling. Now, let’s see what the state government decides.”