Jharkhand's 5 year MBBS bond policy faces backlash from RIMS doctors
Ranchi: The five-year MBBS bond service policy announced by the Jharkhand Health Ministry has received strong opposition from the resident doctors at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Ranchi.
Calling the five-year bond policy for MBBS graduates as unjustified, the Junior Doctors Association (JDA) of RIMS Ranchi has urged the State Government to reconsider the decision in the interest of students' future.
This comes after the State Health Minister, Dr. Irfan Ansari, recently announced that MBBS graduates from medical colleges would be required to serve the State for five years to address the shortage of doctors.
As per the latest media report by The Jharkhand Story, reacting to the announcement, RIMS JDA in a press communiqué issued on Saturday, said that the newly elected office bearers of the JDA said that the postgraduate (PG) doctors are already bound by a three-year mandatory service, and therefore, imposing a five-year bond on the MBBS graduates is unjustified and discouraging for young medical professionals.
Criticising the State's decision, the office bearers of JDA said that the Government was attempting to place the burden of a failing healthcare system on MBBS graduates. "To cover up the failure of the health system, the government is trying to impose a burden on MBBS students. Is it justified to get work forcibly done by MBBS graduates?" the communiqué stated.
The doctors under the JDA further argued that if the Health Minister was genuinely serious about improving healthcare services, the Government should focus on making provisions for regular appointments of specialist doctors graduating from medical colleges.
Commenting on the matter, JDA president Dr Jitendra Kumar, executive president A.N. Singh and secretary Shubham B. Joshi highlighted that the MBBS course itself is academically demanding and rigorous. According to them, medical education does not end with obtaining an MBBS degree as further studies are essential for becoming a fully developed doctor.
Therefore, the office bearers warned that if a five-year bond service policy was imposed, MBBS graduates would lose opportunities to pursue higher education, ultimately leading to a shortage of specialist doctors in the State.
Further, the association has also expressed its surprise at the fact that while several other states are reducing the bond service periods, Jharkhand is planning to impose a five-year bond on its MBBS graduates.
In fact, the doctors also pointed out that back in 2024, the then Health Minister, Banna Gupta, and Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Ajay Kumar Singh, had assured a JDA delegation about reviewing the three-year bond service policy for the PG doctors and also review and reduce the penalty amount for breaking the bond.
The JDA has also expressed its disappointment over the fact that before framing and announcing the policy decision, the Government did not consult stakeholders. They mentioned, "It is a common practice for the government to hold meetings with concerned stakeholders before framing any policy. However, the health minister, who claims to be serious about improving health services, did not consult medical students before announcing this decision."
Besides, the association also questioned the Government's argument about the heavy expenditure being incurred on MBBS graduates, noting that similar investments are made in IIT engineers and IIM graduates, yet no such service bonds are imposed on them.
