Telangana HC slams MCI, Centre; suspends PG Diploma seat conversion to MD/ MS seats

The bench said that the move only benefits private medical colleges and deprives poor people of the services of an efficient government doctor with upgraded skills. The state's Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) was also reprimanded by the court.

Making the said observation on the petition filed by an in-service candidate who sought PG Diploma seat in Radio Diagnostics, the bench of honourable Justices MS Ramachandra Rao and T Amarnath passed an interim direction suspending the State government's decision to surrender medical PG diploma courses for securing more PG medicine seats for the year 2020-21.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) had invited applications from all medical colleges across the country to seek an equal number of PG (MD/MS) seats by surrendering recognized diploma seats in corresponding courses.

Read Also: 4500 Ongoing PG Diploma Students Demand Conversion from MCI, Health Ministry

Accordingly, 18 PG Diploma Seats in Child Health, Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Ophthalmology, Clinical Pathology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Radio-Diagnosis and Orthopaedics from 6 Telangana based medical colleges- Kakatiya Medical College - Warangal, Pratima Medical College - Karimnagar, Kamineni Medical College, MNR Medical College and Gandhi Medical College, Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) were converted to PG Degree. Overall, with the nod of the Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India (MCI BoG), a total of 689 seats from 70 medical colleges had been converted from PG Diploma and added to the national pool of PG Degree (MD, MS) for this academic session.

Read Also: MCI Converts 689 PG Diploma Seats Into MD,MS Degree Seats, Details

Usually, doctors who join government service (in-service quota) are given weightage of marks in getting admission to medical PG diploma courses. Now, with the conversion, these in-service doctors aspiring to join diploma course availing the weightage of marks are at a disadvantage because of the surrendering of diploma courses. The private medical colleges receive crores of rupees for PG Degree seats, the petitioner alleged.

In response to this move of conversion that brought loss to in-service candidates, the MBBS doctor moved the court and stated that he lost an opportunity to pursue medical PG diploma course in Medical Radio Diagnostics due to the government's decision.

After hearing the petition, the bench found fault in the seat exchange policy adopted and followed by the Centre and state and observed that the decision would be helpful to private medical colleges and deprive the government doctors rendering services in rural areas of pursuing diploma courses.

"The decision only benefits private medical colleges and deprives poor people of the services of an efficient government doctor with upgraded skills,"
"The decision also undermines the public health care system and prima facie against the public interest and cannot be taken in the present circumstances," 

Further expressing anguish over the government's move, the judges stated, "This is not the way the government doctors, who are waging a relentless war against COVID-19, should be treated"

The bench then suspended this surrendering seat exercise for the year 2020-21 and directed the authorities to continue with the old practice of giving weightage to in-service candidates, reports TOI.

The notices were issued to the Central and State governments along with MCI, Health University- KNRUHS, Kakatiya Medical College - Warangal, Pratima Medical College - Karimnagar, Kamineni Medical College, MNR Medical College and Gandhi Medical College to file their counter-affidavits by June 1, adds The Hindu