News Analysis India

Tag: MBBS

  • NEET PG 2023: Internership cut-off date deadline extended to August 11, MDS till June 30

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday extended the cut-off date for MBBS aspirants to complete their mandatory one-year internship from June 30 to August 11.

    This is the second time the ministry has extended the internship cut-off date.

    Earlier, on January 13, the cut-off date was extended from March 31 to June 30 by the National Board of Examinations for Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for the purpose of applying for the NEET PG-2023 examination.

    In a tweet, the ministry said, “Considering the future of more than 13,000 MBBS students across 5 States/UTs who were not eligible for #NEET PG 2023 exam due to delayed internship, MoHFW has decided to extend last date of completion of an internship for eligibility to 11th Aug 2023.”

    Apart from the NEET PG2023 internship cut-off deadline extension, the ministry also extended the internship eligibility date for NEET MDS 2023 to June 30, 2023.

    “More than 3000 BDS students across States/UTs were not eligible for #NEET MDS 2023 exam due to the delayed internship. To benefit them, MoHFW has decided to extend the last date of completion of the internship for eligibility to 30th June 2023. Wishing all candidates the very best,” the tweet said.

    However, the ministry has only announced revised NEET eligibility criteria and not the exam date.

    NEET PG 2023 is scheduled for March 5. 

    ALSO READ | KNUHS MBBS interns seek deferment of NEET PG exam

    Despite a series of protests, including social media campaigns, by NEET PG aspirants and several doctors’ associations to postpone the exams, the government has not relented.

    On Tuesday, NEET-PG aspirants and many doctors’ associations protested at Jantar Mantar demanding the postponement of the exams.

    According to Dr Rohan Krishnan, National Chairman, of FAIMA Doctors Association, the students want an extension of the exam by two to three weeks to reduce the gap between the result declaration and the counselling process.

    “We want the exam to be postponed to May-June,” he said.

    As per the National Board of Examinations, the NEET PG 2023 results will be out by March 31, and counselling will begin in July 2023.

    FAIMA had earlier written to the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, saying that 10,000 NEET PG aspirants will be ineligible for the exams. Following this, the internship deadline was extended to June 30.

    In a circular on Tuesday, NBEMS said, “In continuation of NBEMS notice dated January 13 and pursuant to the directions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare… the cut-off date for completion of an internship for the purpose of eligibility for NEET-PG 2023 has been further extended to August 11.”

    The notice added that the students completing their mandatory internship from July 1 to August 11 are now eligible to apply to take the exam. They can fill out the forms which will be released on February 9 to February 12, provided that they fulfil all other eligibility criteria. 

    NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post Graduate) is a national-level entrance exam for admission to postgraduate medical courses such as MS, MD, and PG Diploma courses. 

    NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday extended the cut-off date for MBBS aspirants to complete their mandatory one-year internship from June 30 to August 11.

    This is the second time the ministry has extended the internship cut-off date.

    Earlier, on January 13, the cut-off date was extended from March 31 to June 30 by the National Board of Examinations for Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for the purpose of applying for the NEET PG-2023 examination.

    In a tweet, the ministry said, “Considering the future of more than 13,000 MBBS students across 5 States/UTs who were not eligible for #NEET PG 2023 exam due to delayed internship, MoHFW has decided to extend last date of completion of an internship for eligibility to 11th Aug 2023.”

    Apart from the NEET PG2023 internship cut-off deadline extension, the ministry also extended the internship eligibility date for NEET MDS 2023 to June 30, 2023.

    “More than 3000 BDS students across States/UTs were not eligible for #NEET MDS 2023 exam due to the delayed internship. To benefit them, MoHFW has decided to extend the last date of completion of the internship for eligibility to 30th June 2023. Wishing all candidates the very best,” the tweet said.

    However, the ministry has only announced revised NEET eligibility criteria and not the exam date.

    NEET PG 2023 is scheduled for March 5. 

    ALSO READ | KNUHS MBBS interns seek deferment of NEET PG exam

    Despite a series of protests, including social media campaigns, by NEET PG aspirants and several doctors’ associations to postpone the exams, the government has not relented.

    On Tuesday, NEET-PG aspirants and many doctors’ associations protested at Jantar Mantar demanding the postponement of the exams.

    According to Dr Rohan Krishnan, National Chairman, of FAIMA Doctors Association, the students want an extension of the exam by two to three weeks to reduce the gap between the result declaration and the counselling process.

    “We want the exam to be postponed to May-June,” he said.

    As per the National Board of Examinations, the NEET PG 2023 results will be out by March 31, and counselling will begin in July 2023.

    FAIMA had earlier written to the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, saying that 10,000 NEET PG aspirants will be ineligible for the exams. Following this, the internship deadline was extended to June 30.

    In a circular on Tuesday, NBEMS said, “In continuation of NBEMS notice dated January 13 and pursuant to the directions of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare… the cut-off date for completion of an internship for the purpose of eligibility for NEET-PG 2023 has been further extended to August 11.”

    The notice added that the students completing their mandatory internship from July 1 to August 11 are now eligible to apply to take the exam. They can fill out the forms which will be released on February 9 to February 12, provided that they fulfil all other eligibility criteria. 

    NEET PG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Post Graduate) is a national-level entrance exam for admission to postgraduate medical courses such as MS, MD, and PG Diploma courses. 

  • MBBS books in local languages soon, NMC to take lead role

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh may be the first state to roll out textbooks in Hindi for medical students, but medicine will soon be taught in the country in regional languages as well. The High Powered Committee for Promotion of Indian Languages under the Ministry of Education has already initiated dialogues with the National Medical Commission (NMC), state medical councils, medical universities and colleges and also doctors and professors, on preparing medical syllabus in Hindi and other regional languages, Chamu Krishna Shastry, the committee’s chairman, told this newspaper.

    Shastry said that the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University Vice Chancellor, Dr Sudha Seshayyan M.S., has already started preparing a glossary on medical terms in Tamil.  He added that Home Minister Amit Shah will release the country’s first MBBS syllabus in Hindi for students on October 16. Hopefully, other states will follow suit, he said.

    “They (MP) have prepared textbooks for first-year MBBS students. They are working on preparing the rest of the medical course books. The main aim is to bring medical textbooks in Hindi and other regional languages,” Shastry added. While teaching in English will continue, students will have the option to study both  in Hindi and their regional language.

    The idea behind the initiative is that 90 per cent of patients don’t know English. “A large section of the students also come after having studied in their mother tongue, and all of a sudden, when they start medical education in English medium they find it difficult to comprehend medical language,” Shastry added.

    “Students from rural areas would like to work in their hometowns or villages. So we will be able to create a workforce catering to rural healthcare facilities. The quality of the books won’t be compromised,” Shastry said. 

    However, the plan has drawn flak from the medical fraternity. Dr Rohan Krishnan, president, FAIMA Doctors Association, said that it will affect the students adversely. “Medical education needs to be at par with international guidelines and bodies,” he said, adding that students will get confused and the quality will fall.

    Dr Furquan Ahmad, former joint secretary of Resident Doctors Association, RML, tweeted, “Teaching MBBS in Hindi is a regressive step. Hyper Nationalism is the root cause. Tomorrow, they will demand to launch it in Sanskrit, but what’s the point of writing English words in Devnagari script for political agenda? NMC is a complete failure.” 

    Dr Manish Jangra, FAIMA founding member, said doctors, after completion, will find themselves unfamiliar with guidelines and will have to depend on poor salaries.

    NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh may be the first state to roll out textbooks in Hindi for medical students, but medicine will soon be taught in the country in regional languages as well. The High Powered Committee for Promotion of Indian Languages under the Ministry of Education has already initiated dialogues with the National Medical Commission (NMC), state medical councils, medical universities and colleges and also doctors and professors, on preparing medical syllabus in Hindi and other regional languages, Chamu Krishna Shastry, the committee’s chairman, told this newspaper.

    Shastry said that the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University Vice Chancellor, Dr Sudha Seshayyan M.S., has already started preparing a glossary on medical terms in Tamil.  He added that Home Minister Amit Shah will release the country’s first MBBS syllabus in Hindi for students on October 16. Hopefully, other states will follow suit, he said.

    “They (MP) have prepared textbooks for first-year MBBS students. They are working on preparing the rest of the medical course books. The main aim is to bring medical textbooks in Hindi and other regional languages,” Shastry added. While teaching in English will continue, students will have the option to study both  in Hindi and their regional language.

    The idea behind the initiative is that 90 per cent of patients don’t know English. “A large section of the students also come after having studied in their mother tongue, and all of a sudden, when they start medical education in English medium they find it difficult to comprehend medical language,” Shastry added.

    “Students from rural areas would like to work in their hometowns or villages. So we will be able to create a workforce catering to rural healthcare facilities. The quality of the books won’t be compromised,” Shastry said. 

    However, the plan has drawn flak from the medical fraternity. Dr Rohan Krishnan, president, FAIMA Doctors Association, said that it will affect the students adversely. “Medical education needs to be at par with international guidelines and bodies,” he said, adding that students will get confused and the quality will fall.

    Dr Furquan Ahmad, former joint secretary of Resident Doctors Association, RML, tweeted, “Teaching MBBS in Hindi is a regressive step. Hyper Nationalism is the root cause. Tomorrow, they will demand to launch it in Sanskrit, but what’s the point of writing English words in Devnagari script for political agenda? NMC is a complete failure.” 

    Dr Manish Jangra, FAIMA founding member, said doctors, after completion, will find themselves unfamiliar with guidelines and will have to depend on poor salaries.

  • Nagpur man duped of Rs 21 lakh with promise to secure MBBS admission

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: A Nagpur resident was allegedly cheated of Rs 21 lakh by four persons by offering to secure admission to medical college for his daughter, police said on Saturday.

    The accused are based in Pune, said an official of Ajni police station, adding that no arrest has been made so far.

    Rajesh Lanjewar (51), who is a teacher, received a text message three months ago which offered to facilitate MBBS admissions, he told police.

    When he contacted the accused, they asked him to pay Rs 21 lakh for a seat in a medical college for his daughter in Nashik or Jalgaon.

    Later the accused told him that they could not secure admission, the complaint said.

    Police have registered a case of cheating under IPC section 420 and probe is on, the official said.

  • Foreign MBBS graduates could need double internships to practice in India

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Securing registration to practice medicine in India could get tougher for students pursuing medicine abroad as they will now be required to do double internships — once in the country where they got the MBBS and again in India — as per new norms about to be released.

    About 10,000-12,000 students from the country go abroad every year to pursue MBBS.

    As of now, these medical graduates, except those who get their degrees in US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, are required to clear the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination and do a mandatory one-year internship in a recognised Indian medical college before they can get their registration. 

    Most of them, however, do not do internships abroad and return to India after completing 4.5 years of the MBBS degree.

    Aruna V Vanikar, president of the undergraduate medical education board at the National Medical Commission, told this newspaper that the process of issuing licenses to such graduates is being made more “stringent” as part of a reform push in medical education.

    “As of now, there are instances of medical graduates with just 3-3.5 years from many sub-standard colleges abroad and we need to put a stop to such cases,” she said. Vanikar added that these graduates will have to spend at least 15-18 months following their degree before they can get a license to practice.The guidelines are expected this week for public feedback before the final notification.

    Starting 2023, when the National Exit Test gets implemented, all final-year medical students will need to take it in two steps. All local MBBS students will start internships in the colleges where they graduated. Foreign students successful in the NEXT step 1 exam will have internships in designated sites.

    After a mentor-certified internship, they will need to appear for the NEXT step 2 exam and can get a license only after clearing it. Medical education activist Vivek Pandey said that the new proposal may make it more difficult for foreign medical graduates to pursue a career in India.

    Poor scores in FMGEs

    The passing percentage in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination for students who get their MBBS abroad is just 10-20% every year. The FMGE is a prerequisite to get a license for medical practice in India

  • Non-MBBS teachers in medical colleges staring at an uncertain future

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:   A year after nearly 6,000 non-medical teachers in medical colleges knocked at the door of Union health ministry fearing job crisis as the National Medical Commission reduced the ceiling for their appointment, the government is yet to take a view on the matter.

    While teachers of clinical subjects in medical colleges are always doctors with MBBS and MS/MD degrees, there are others in the non-clinical subjects with medical MSc or PhDs who are not doctors but their designations range from tutor to professor and even head of departments.

    Last year, in the regulations released by the medical education regulator, the permissible intake of non-medical faculty had come down from 30% to 15% in anatomy and physiology, from 50% to 15% in biochemistry, and from 30% to 0% in microbiology and pharmacology.

    Opposing this, the National MSc Medical Teachers Association (NMMTA), the body representing non medical teachers, had pleaded with the health ministry to get the decision changed in order to address faculty crisis in institution as well as to help the existing teachers.

    The ministry, however, seems to have turned a blind eye to their petition. Association members pointed out that the Teachers Eligibility and Qualifications guidelines of the previous regulator, Medical Council of India, allowed higher intakes of non-medical teachers to teach pre and para clinical subjects.

    Sridhar Rao, president of NMMTA, pointed out that while there has been an increase in MD seats in the non-clinical subjects, 40-50% of them remain vacant each year, which would only mean that the faculty shortage is likely to continue. “The shortages are more pronounced in the colleges located in rural, remote or hilly areas where the availability of medical teachers is generally poor,” he added.

    He also said that while rejecting a prior proposal to do away with the provision of appointing MSc/PhD teachers, the Board of Governors in supersession of the MCI in January, 2020 had cited the shortage of faculty in institutions.

  • All-India merit list for NEET PG likely by end of week, say officials

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The merit list for the all-India counselling for 50% all-India quota in the NEET PG is set to be released by the end of the next week, sources associated with the Director-General of Health Services said. Results and scorecards were declared on September 28. 

    Officials said that while most states will prepare their own merit list for admission on the basis of the NEET PG merit list and the all-India ranks, the national list will be released separately after which the counselling for admission for all-India seats will be conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee under the DGHS. 

    “We are hoping to release the national list between October 8 and 10,” said a senior official in the Union education ministry. 

    The NEET PG state counselling will be held under the aegis of the respective counselling authorities of the states and all eligible candidates who will apply for state counselling will be included in the respective state merit list. 

    This year, a little over 1.6 lakh doctors appeared in NEET PG for admission into MS, MD and diploma seats in medical colleges.  

    As per rules, while under the all-India quota, admissions are offered in 50 % seats in government colleges of all states except J&K, 100 % seats of central universities, 100 % seats of deemed universities and 50 % seats of colleges under Employee State Insurance Corporation.

    The NEET PG examination saw an unprecedented delay of nearly eight months due to the massive second wave of Covid as the government decided to deploy final-year MBBS students and junior residents for providing services. 

  • Pandemic stress blamed as close to 40 per cent first-year MBBS students fail exam in Bihar

    Express News Service

    PATNA:  For the first time, close to 40% of MBBS students have failed in their first-year examinations in Bihar. A total of 1,172 first-year MBBS students appeared for the offline examinations held in March this year from Bihar’s nine medical colleges.

    As many as 447 of them failed. The results were declared on August 30.   

    Following such unprecedented number of failures, the student wing of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged the chancellor of Bihar to conduct a reevaluation of the answer sheets of those who have failed.

    The student body cited the impact of the pandemic on the students for such high failure rate.  

    They said teaching was conducted online, but exams were held offline as a result of which the students faced a lot of problems while answering the questions.  

    The examination was conducted in March adhering to Covid-19 protocols.

    As per the letter written to the governor -cum-chancellor, of the total number of students who have failed, 104 were from Madhubani Medical College and 56 from the Bettiah Government Medical College. 

    When contacted, Rajiv Ranjan, the controller of exams of the Aryabhatta Knowledge University, which conducts the examinations of all these nine medical colleges, said that there is no provision for conducting re-evaluation of such a large number of failed students. 

    “But the university has allowed them to appear in the second supplementary examination, starting from September 27. And they are filling up forms for this examination,” the controller of examinations Rajiv Ranjan told this newspaper.

    The examination of first year MBBS students of 2019 batch was delayed three months.

    The results of the exams were declared seven months later on August 30.

  • Government announces 27% reservation for OBCs, 10% quota for EWS in medical seats

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a major decision, the Centre on Thursday announced 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% quota for the economically weaker section category students for undergraduate and postgraduate medicine and dental courses under the All-India Quota (AIQ) scheme.

    Under the AIQ scheme, 15% seats at the under-graduate level and 50% seats at the post-graduate level are kept domicile free in government medical and dental colleges against which students from other states too are offered admission while the rest of the seats are kept only for students from within the state. 

    “This will immensely help thousands of our youth every year get better opportunities and create a new paradigm of social justice in our country,” tweeted PM Narendra Modi, while announcing the decision.

    The newly approved quotas will be applicable from the current academic session, 2021-22.

    The proposal by the Union health ministry for these reservations was approved in a meeting chaired by the PM on Monday.

    A statement by the government said that the decision would benefit nearly 1500 OBC students in MBBS and 2500 OBC students in PG while it will also impact around 550 EWS students in MBBS and around 1000 EWS students in PG medicine.

    ALSO READ | IIT-Delhi working towards implementing new education policy in upcoming session

    The AIQ scheme was introduced in 1986 under the direction of the Supreme Court to provide for domicile-free merit-based opportunities to students from any state so that they could aspire to study in a good medical college located in another State.

    Initially, there was no reservation in the AIQ Scheme up to 2007. However, in 2007, the apex court introduced a reservation of 15% for SCs and 7.5% for STs under the scheme after which the clamour had grown for also benefiting the OBC students under the provision. 

    When the central educational institutions (reservation in admission) Act became effective in 2007 providing for uniform 27% reservation to OBCs, the same was implemented in all the centrally-run medical colleges but was not extended to the AIQ seats of state medical and dental colleges.

    The Modi government, through a Constitutional amendment in 2019, had introduced a provision of 10% reservation for EWS category and accordingly, seats in medical and dental colleges were raised over two years so that seats for other general category students do not go down.

    “In the AIQ seats, however, this benefit had not been extended so far,” said the ministry, adding that therefore the issue of reservation under the AIQ scheme was now being resolved.

  • Uttarakhand government increases stipend of MBBS interns to Rs 17000 per month

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has approved the increment of monthly stipend of 330 MBBS medical interns in the state from Rs 7500 per month to Rs 17000 per month. 

    After the decision, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “Our medical and paramedical staff have worked hard to save lives in these pandemic times. We can’t thank them for their service as their contribution is invaluable.”

    On July 8, 2021 the HC also took notice of the issue of medical interns in the state being paid the lowest monthly stipend in the country. The court directed the state government to consider the possibility of increasing the stipend being paid to intern doctors. 

    “According to state health secretary Amit Negi, one one hand, it is difficult to attract doctors to the State, and yet, on the other hand, the stipend being paid to the intern doctors is too low as compared to other States. Therefore, the state government should consider the possibility of increasing the stipend of intern doctors,” the court observed in the order dated July 8. 

    Dr Astha Gupta, an intern in Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Govt. Institute of Medical Science & Research, Srinagar said, “I thank the honourable Chief Minister Sir for this. I am also thankful to everyone who supported our intern groups throughout the state. This is a huge token of respect and encouragement for us.”

    Before this, the stipend was revised was in 2011 when it was increased from Rs 2500 to Rs 7500. The medical students who complete their MBBS course have to do 12 months mandatory internship according to the norms of Medical Council of India.

    Earlier, their monthly stipend was lowest in the country. The interns have been demanding this for months now and were on indefinite strike. 

    As of today, there are 330 interns are working in three government medical colleges of the state- 194 in Doon Medical College, 97 in Srinagar and 99 in Dr Susheela Tiwari Government Medical College and Hospital, Haldwani. 

    The medical interns used to get paid only Rs 7500 per month which means just Rs 250 per day as stipend which is lowest in India. They have also not been paid since last one-and-a-half month.

    In Uttar Pradesh, medical interns get Rs 12500/month while in Tamil Nadu and Telangana it is Rs 20000. Haryana and Himachal pay Rs 17000 to medical interns, while in AIIMS-Delhi, the stipend is fixed at 28000 per month.

    Many had raised objections of paltry sum calling the stipend of Rs 250 per day too less and meagre. A candle march was also organized by the interns in all across the state in June this year as a sign of protest. 

  • Eight lakh cheated in the name of getting admission in RIMS Medical College

    A case of cheating of nearly eight lakh rupees has come in the name of admission in the medical college. The thugs cheated that he will get the student’s admission to MBBS in Rims College. The report of this entire case has been lodged at Pandari Police Station. According to the Pandari police station, it has been reported by Babita Sahu, a resident of Swamp Seoni.

    He himself transferred the money to the thugs in his account in the name of admission of his daughter Anchal Sahu. The accused against whom the report has been filed include Surendra Kamat, Vidhanand Verma and Vishwajit Shah. The accused approached the student before taking the NEET exam and even after the result.

    At the same time, the student’s admission was done in another state’s medical college. However, the victim got caught in the trap of thugs in the fascination of Medical College, Raipur. Pandari police station in-charge Yakub Memon has said in this case that the accused are from nearby Delhi. Police is preparing a strategy for his early arrest.