SC gives 6 weeks to centre to decide on fate of foreign medical students

mangaloretoday.com/ News18

New Delhi, Jan 26, 2023: The Supreme Court on Wednesday informed the Centre not to delay further its decision on the problem faced by foreign medical graduates who returned to India during their penultimate year of study due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

 

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath adjourned the matter for six weeks after being informed that the committee had met once but needed more time to decide. The Centre also needs time to consult with the states, Additional Solicitor General of India Aishwarya Bhati submitted before the bench.

Dealing with a batch of petitions filed by the students anxiously awaiting a solution from the Court concerning their future, a bench of justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath said, “At the request of the additional solicitor general (ASG), list the matter after six weeks.”

The court also reiterated that it could not go on compromising with medical education and would go as per the committee’s recommendations. On July 28, the National Medical Commission (NMC) notified a scheme allowing students who were in the last year of their undergraduate medical course and those who were granted a certificate of completion of course/degree before June 30, 2022 to take the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination.

Upon qualifying for the FMG examination, the medical graduates were required to undergo Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship for two years. Since the scheme was applicable to students in their last year and the batch of pleas were filed by students in their penultimate year, the SC while expressing concerns with regards to students’ careers on December 9 had asked the Centre and NMC to constitute a committee.