UP scraps Seat Leaving Penalty, now Candidates to be Debarred from next academic year's Counselling for Discontinuing medical courses

Lucknow: Complying with the National Medical Commission's earlier direction, the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Medical Education and Training has removed the practice of imposing a seat-leaving penalty on candidates discontinuing the courses midway. Instead of imposing penalties on undergraduate and postgraduate medical candidates for leaving the seats midway, the State has decided to debar such candidates from the admission process for the next academic session.

Issuing an order in this regard on Friday i.e. 02.08.2024, the UP DMET mentioned, "It has been decided by Government Order No.-I/676928/2024 dated 26 June 2024 that after admission to the seats of undergraduate/postgraduate course of all the government and private sector medical/dental colleges/institutions/medical universities established in the state, the system of taking Seat Leaving Bond amount or penalty from any candidate before completing the course will be abolished and in place of this, as per the suggestion given in paragraph-5 of the letter dated 19.01.2024 of NMC, if the concerned candidate leaves the seat before completing the course, then he will be debarred from the admission process of the next academic session."

"In view of the above, it is informed that the provisions contained in the Government Order dated 26.6.2024 will be applicable to the candidates admitted in undergraduate / postgraduate / superspeciality courses from the current academic session 2024-25. The provision of Government Order dated 26.6.2024 will not be applicable to the candidates admitted before the academic session 2024-25," it further mentioned.

Medical Dialogues had reported earlier in June that the UP Government had abolished the fine imposed on MBBS/BDS students who leave their medical/dental education courses midway. However, in that case also, the Government continued debarring such students from taking admission to a medical education course in the next academic year.

Earlier this year, the Apex Medical Regulator NMC had already directed the State/UT governments to reconsider the seat leaving bond conditions for the PG medical students.

Now complying with the NMC's directions, the State has abolished the seat leaving penalty for the post-graduate and super-speciality medical students enrolled in various government, autonomous, and private medical or dental colleges and institutions. 

While responding to a query raised in this regard by Samajwadi Party leader Man Singh Yadav in the Vidhan Parishad, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak confirmed this and said, "No medical student will be required to pay a penalty for vacating a seat mid-session. The state govt acknowledges that personal circumstances may compel such a decision, and our administration empathises with the needs of medical students."

"However, such students will be debarred from seeking admission in the subsequent academic session," Pathak added.

Also Read: No More penalty for leaving MBBS, BDS seats midway in Uttar Pradesh

Man Singh Yadav had alleged that several students at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) were being harassed due to seat-leaving bond, the Times of India has reported.

This practice of imposing seat-leaving bond was started to secure commitment of medical students and discourage them from leaving seats abruptly. In UP, this amount was fixed at Rs 5 lakh, however, several states charge up to Rs 40 lakh as seat-leaving penalty.

Officials at the State Medical Education Department informed that the Director General of Medical Education Kinjal Singh issued the order on bond on July 24. The order stated, "Prioritising mental well-being of medical students, the state government has resolved to abolish the provision of seat-leaving bond and penalty. Instead, the National Medical Council’s recommendation of debarring such students from seeking admission in the subsequent academic session will be implemented."

Commenting on the matter, the Executive registrar of SGPGIMS, Col Varun Bajpai termed the move as "pragmatic and student-friendly". He said, "There are instances when many students, especially at the postgraduate level, realize that the subject they have chosen does not align with their skill set. For those who wish to make a fresh start, the bond acted as an impediment and a source of pressure, which the govt has now eliminated."

Further, he mentioned that the clause of debarring such students from seeking admission in the subsequent academic session would prevent its misuse. Meanwhile, Departmental officials have opined that this decision of abolishing the seat-leaving penalty would benefit more than a lakh medical students enrolled in various medical institutes across UP.

Also Read: NMC considering to relax bond policies: Report