NEW DELHI: Demanding the government to accommodate them in Indian medical colleges for practicals, 300-odd Indian medical students who had enrolled in Chinese universities protested at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar road on Sunday.The students gathered under the banner of Indian Students in China (ISIC) and Foreign Medical Graduates Parents’ Association (FMGPA) and conducted “chalo Dilli”, a pan-India mass gathering from 10 am to 4 pm.
It is to be noted that the Supreme Court had in a recent verdict directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to frame a scheme within two months to allow these students to undergo clinical training in India at local medical colleges.The protest was attended by the students and parents from Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Tripura, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat.
According to Shahroz Khan, a fifth year student of a medical college in China, the students mainly want the National Medical Council to understand their issues. On time remaining with the NMC, he said, “The Supreme Court has given two months time to NMC and now they have one month left to take a call on foreign medical graduates from across all the countries to accommodate students for clinical practice alone in India till the time they are allowed to go back to China.”
“The situation is so dire that people are even considering letting their investment in fees go to waste and instead choose other options at home in India. We are seeking a meeting with the NMC so that we can directly represent the concerns that we have with them,” he said. The medical students have been awaiting a return to their colleges ever since over two years now. The condition of the students is particularly special as medical education in online mode is not considered adequate by Indian authorities.