Upset with Rs 10 lakh annual bond, Kalpana Chawla Govt medical college students launch signature drive
Karnal: Upset with the State Government notice regarding Rs 10 lakh annual bond for students pursuing MBBS courses in the Government medical colleges in Haryana, the medicos belonging to Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College (KCGMC) launched a signature campaign recently.
The students also protested against the annual bond policy of the Government which is effective from the current academic year and will continue till the completion of the MBBS degree.
Launching the signature campaign on the college premises, the medicos claimed that it would not be possible for them to afford Rs 10 lakh annually apart from the regular fee and therefore they demanded the Government to withdraw the notice.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that through a recent notice, the State Government of Haryana clarified that the Rs 10 lakh annual bond policy shall remain effective for this academic year as well and the MBBS students will be required to pay the amount at the start of every academic year till the completion of the MBBS degree of four and a half years.
Issuing a Public Notice in this regard, the Director of Medical Education & Research, Haryana, informed about the Customized Education Loan Scheme for the residents of Haryana-Guaranteed by Govt. of Haryana and informed that IDBI Bank is offering the rate of interest 6.90% p.a. Therefore, the DMER Haryana directed all the banks to either match the rate of interest offered by IDBI or offer a lower rate.
Also Read: Rs 10 Lakh annual bond for MBBS Admissions in Haryana
This new bond policy had been introduced by the Haryana Government back in 2020. Back then, apart from fixing the MBBS fee at Rs 80,000 along with 10 percent rise per annum, the State had also mentioned about the salient feature of the policy regarding the compulsory bond of Rs 10 lakh per annum which every candidate needs to deposit at the beginning of every year for the four and half years course duration. It was decided that this bond amount would either be paid by the candidate themselves or the government would help the candidates take loan from a government sector bank. As per the Government offer, the loan would be paid off by the Government if the candidate serves in the Government sector after completion of the medical course. Otherwise the candidate will be responsible for paying the loan.
This effectively implied at that time that those who will join government service after MBBS, the fees will start at Rs 80,000. However, for those, who do not wish to do government service, the effective fees would be Rs 10 lakh per annum.
Referring to this, Haryana DMER mentioned in the recent public notice, "Government of Haryana has notified the regarding Incentivizing Doctors to opt for Haryana Government Medical Service in any Public Health Institution or Government Medical College to strengthen the medical facilities in the State and revise the fee structure for MBBS Course from Academic Session 2020-2021 in various Government Medical Colleges in the State of Haryana on 06- 11-2020."
"Each candidate selected for MBBS degree course, at the time of admission shall have to execute an annual bond for an amount of candidate. This bond for an amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- (Rs. Ten Lakh Only) minus annual fee paid by the candidate. This bond shall be paid at the start of every academic year. The candidate shall continue to pay the bond till term of the MBBS degree i.e. 4 ½ years," it added.
However, the MBBS students of Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College (KCGMC) are not happy with this and demanding the government to withdraw the notice, the medicos launched a signature campaign in this regard.
While commenting on this, a protesting student told The Tribune, "Most of the students are either from poor or middle-class families. We cannot afford Rs 10 lakh annually and the state government should take it back in the larger interest of the students."
Urging the Government to withdraw the policy, another student added, "We have held a signature campaign against the policy that was introduced in 2020. A bond of Rs 10 lakh annually must be signed by students pursuing MBBS course in government medical colleges and this bond will be a prerequisite for getting a government job."
