Bihar medicos to pay Rs 15 lakh for quitting PG courses

According to a decision made by the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Cabinet, Medical students pursuing post graduate (PG) courses at government colleges will have to pay Rs 15 lakh if they quit the course midway. The students will have to sign an undertaking that they will pay the amount if they leave the course mid-way. Rs 25 lakh will be fined if they do not serve in the state for at least three years. In both the cases, the “aberrant” will also have to return the stipend paid to them by the state government.

Sources say that the government move was aimed preventing wastage of medical seats. A sizable chunk of seats of para and non-clinical courses in various medical colleges were vacant for the entire session, as those pursuing PG in these courses switch to clinical sections. “The practice led to shortage of teachers of non-clinical sections of medical colleges,” said a senior officer of the health department.

Citing the practice of bond system in some other states, health department officials here observed that the bond for service facility would help the state improve medical facilities at the district and village levels.

“There are 477 seats for PG courses in six medical colleges, including those located at Patna, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Gaya. However, on an average, 450 students pass the courses every year,” they added.

About 75% posts of specialised doctors have been vacant at the district and block-level hospitals in the state for the last many years.

Last year, the department had asked the Bihar Public Service Commission to recruit against about 2,700 posts of specialized doctors. But the exercise failed to achieve the purpose of filling up the vacancies, as the BPSC managed to recruit around 600 PG doctors, only.

So do you think of this move as a good decision?