Publish Govt order waiving Internship Fees: Tamil Nadu FMGs urge Govt

Coimbatore: Although it has been around three months since the announcement of the Health Minister Ma Subramanian regarding the waiving of the Internship fees, the Foreign medical graduates (FMGs) based in Tamil Nadu are still waiting for the Government Order in this regard.

The medicos are confused whether or not to pay the previous fees of around Rs 2 lakhs for undergoing internship and therefore they have urged the State Government to publish the GO at the earliest.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, in order to enroll themselves in the CRRI programmes, the students need to pay fees to the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University for obtaining a no-objection certificate.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that bringing major relief to the FMGs from Tamil Nadu, the State Government had announced back on July 29 about around 90% fee reduction for the FMGs willing to undergo the Compulsory Rotatory Internship (CRRI) in India.

The confirmation in this regard had come from the State Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian, who had announced that instead of paying almost Rs 5.20 lakh for the internship, the medicos will have to pay a meagre amount of Rs 30,000.

Apart from completely waiving off Rs 2 lakh to be paid to the government, it was decided to drastically reduce Rs 3.20 lakh to be paid to the MGR Medical University, the Minister had told the media.

Meanwhile, back in March 2022, the National Medical Commission (NMC) provided major relief to to the Foreign Medical Graduates who want to pursue internship in India. NMC had clarified that the Indian medical colleges shall not charge any fees from the medical graduates from abroad for permitting them to do internship in India.

In fact, the apex medical regulator had further made it clear that the FMGs would be paid equal stipend and other facilities just like the Indian Medical Graduates who are being trained at Government Medical Colleges.

The reason for such relief on NMC's part was the fact that the medical graduates from abroad were facing hardship in getting themselves registered in some of the State medical Councils after publication of Foreign Medical Graduates Licentiate Regulations, 2021 and Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internship Regulations, 2021 by National Medical Commission.

Also Read: Major Relief for FMGs: TN cuts Internship Fee by 90 percent

Complying with the NMC directions, the State Government of Tamil Nadu had decided to slash the Rs 2 lakh fees that needs to be paid to the Government. Further it also reduced the Rs 3.20 lakh fees that the medicos need to pay to the MGR Medical University.

While commenting on the matter, the secretary of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA) M Senthil Kumar described the Government announcement as a relif and added, "It will help several medicos to do internships to obtain hands-on experience. However, the joy was short-lived, because the GO is yet to be published."

The daily further adds that the members of TNMSA-FMG wing and Doctors' Association for Social Equality (DASE) have planned to stage a demonstration at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai on November 2 to urge the government for publishing the GO.

Also Read: NMC Relief: Equal Stipend, no extra fee for FMGs for Pursuing Internship in India