Goa government to rethink penalty for medical, dental students

PANAJI: The government on Friday decided to hold its decision to ask students of medicine and dentistry at the Goa Medical College (GMC) and the Goa Dental College (GDC) to furnish a bank guarantee at the time of admission.

Health minister Vishwajit Rane told TOI on Friday that the order has been kept in “abeyance” and that further decision will be taken after discussion with the secretary health. Rane said he does not want the bank guarantee to be linked to the admission process.

The earlier admission process necessitated a simple undertaking from students stating that they will complete the course and thereafter work for the government for a specified period. This was to ensure that other deserving students were not deprived of the opportunity to pursue a career in medicine.

The government, an official said, took the decision to get students to submit a bank guarantee at the time of admission in a bid to get them to comply with the bond provisions. It was noticed that some students found ways to skip the bond provisions after completing course.

The health minister said after many students leave the institute without serving the bond and then don’t bother to acknowledge communication from the college.

As per the public health department’s order, which has now been place on hold, post graduate (PG) students are required to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 10 lakh at the time of admission. The bank guarantee amount for MBBS and BDS students was fixed at Rs 5 lakh. The order was to be effective from the academic year 2018-19 for GMC and 2017-18 for GDC.

Students and parents alike had termed the decision “unfair” and “unjust.” An official, who was not part of the decision making, said asking a student to furnish a bank guarantee at the time of admission is unjust, and can be challenged in any court of law easily.

“Until last year, students only gave an undertaking as part of the bond provision,” an official said.

The same order also hiked the bond penalty from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for all courses offered at GMC and GDC. Previously, the bond penalty for GMC’s PG and diploma students was fixed at Rs 10 lakh while it was Rs 7 lakh for GDC students.