MBBS Students enrolled in China Medical Colleges seek Training in India: High Court issues notice to NMC, MEA

Taking note of the submissions, the Delhi High Court bench comprising of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has issued notices to the respondents including NMC, the apex medical body and the Ministry of External Affairs.

Around 150 MBBS students approached the HC and filed the plea through Advocates PV Dinesh, Ashwini Kumar Singh and Bineesh K. It has been claimed in the petition that the careers of around 18,000 MBBS students are at stake as they are unable to return back to China due to the travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese Government.

Referring to this fact, the students in their plea have further pointed out that the National Medical Commission (NMC) is neither recognizing their online studies nor allowing them to attain physical training in India.

They have sought a direction upon NMC to recognize online classes from the Chinese Universities, and allow physical training/internship/clerkship of the students after getting permission from their parent Universities.

Apart from these, directions have been sought upon the Ministry of External Affairs for meeting the concerned Chinese officials and resolving the matter.

The petitioners are students of Ningbo University in China and they came back to India in early 2020 following the Covid-19 outbreak.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that thousands of students were stuck at their homes for more than one year after the Covid-19 outbreak and they were unable to go back to their parent institutes in China as the Government in there had officially announced that foreign students and teachers would not return to their colleges until further notice.

Although students were desperate to go back and they sought the intervention of authorities including the Ministry of External Affairs, United Nations (UN), nothing has happened yet to solve the problems of these students.

Meanwhile, NMC has denied recognizing the online studies of those students and the apex medical regulator also clarified that those students would not be allowed to attend the eligibility test in India as well.

Also Read: With NMC not ready to recognise online studies, Medical Students desperate to return to China, move MEA

As per the latest media report by Live Law, pointing out that due to the stand of NMC in not recognizing the online medical education of these foreign medical universities, the students in their plea have pointed out that contrary to the NMC's decision, online education is approved for MBBS students studying in Indian colleges.

They have further pointed out that as per the NMC rules, it is mandatory for the foreign medical students to complete the entire course, training and internship or clerkship "outside India in the same foreign medical institution throughout the course of study". This is mandatory if the MBBS graduates from abroad wish to seek Permanent Registration for practicing Medicine in India.

Submitting that due to the travel restrictions, they are unable to fulfill this requirement, the students mentioned in the plea, "In the present extra-ordinary circumstances, the Petitioners herein are neither being allowed to attain physical training/internships/clerkships in India by the NMC nor any clarifications being provided by the authorities regarding the approval to the online theory classes attended by them from their medical University situated in China."

Besides, the petitioner students further pointed out that taking note of the Regulations of 2021, they are not even allowed to get a transfer from their parent Medical University in China to any other University abroad. Thus, filing the plea, the students urged for judicial intervention in the matter.

Issuing notice to the concerned parties including NMC, the Delhi HC bench has urged the authorities to consider the issue sympathetically.

Meanwhile, the counsel for the concerned authorities had appeared on advance notice and they have informed the court that the issue would be taken up before the Ministry of External Affairs.