FMG Internship in Rajasthan: Students begin Indefinite Sit-in Protest demanding allotment
Jaipur: Demanding immediate allotment to Compulsory Medical Rotatory Internship (CMRI) programme, the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in Rajasthan have now commenced an indefinite sit-in protest from April 26, 2023.
The students have decided not to leave the protest site at Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur, unless the Government responds to their demands and ensures that medical graduates from abroad, who have cleared the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) are allotted CMRI seats on an immediate basis.
Around 300-400 students participated in April 26 protest, which commenced at around 10 am. A Press release issued by the FMG association mentioned that the students became forced to commence the protest after their futile attempts to approach Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena a couple of times.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that due to the scarcity of adequate Internship seats, around 2000 FMG doctors are facing an uncertain future as they will not be able to register/ practice in India without completing the mandatory internship rule of the National Medical Commission (NMC).
In the case of Rajasthan alone, only around 30 percent of the total students, who cleared the mandatory FMGE test in January have secured a seat for Internship. Earlier, Rajasthan Medical Council only held counselling for filling only 399 seats while the state almost has approximately 2,000 FMG internship seats. 966 of the 1,365 exam-qualified candidates are still waiting for an internship seat. In Haryana, around 40 students are yet to get an internship seat, sources informed Medical Dialogues.
While the admission process in Maharashtra is ongoing, there is still no clarity regarding the number of available seats for FMGE graduates. Meanwhile, even after three months of the FMGE results, many states across the country have not yet commenced the counselling process.
Also Read: Limited Internship Seats, Thousands of FMGE graduates facing Uncertain Future
Recently, protesting against the limited number of internship seats, the FMGs in Rajasthan stated a protest and urged the government to take immediate stapes. The medicos staged a protest near one of the Medical Colleges of Rajasthan and stated, "We are asking for our right, we are not begging for a seat. We will be on strike today till our voice is heard. We want justice."
As per the latest media report by Edex Live, an official of the National Medical Commission has informed the daily that there are 2,545 internship seats available in Rajasthan for foreign medical graduates. On the other hand, the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) has allotted internship only to 399 FMGs and stated that no more seats are available.
Issuing a press release in this regard, the FMG association pointed out that "966 children are still without seats and their future is in darkness." The association has also submitted a letter to the Union Health Secretary on April 20. However, until now, they have not received any response from the authorities, informed Dr Shahroz Khan, National Coordinator of China FMGs.
He further mentioned how the students are frustrated over the fact that they are now required to undergo two years of internship instead of one.
Meanwhile, the National President of the All India Medical Students' Association (AIMSA), Dr Jitendra Singh, who hails from Rajasthan, has indicated hope. In a recent tweet, he mentioned that NMC has assured to solve the matter at the earliest.=
Also Read: FMG Internship: NC asks JnK Administration to address concerns of students
