Gandhinagar: Out of a total of 2,653 students who have graduated from government-affiliated medical colleges since the academic year 2020-21, 70%, i.e., 1,856 students, have yet to commence their service in government-operated facilities.

The state government informed the Gujarat assembly during the monsoon session that 1,856 of these students have not taken up positions in government-run healthcare facilities as required by the bond they signed. These students had received financial support for their medical education and, in exchange, have committed to working for one year in government-run healthcare institutions.

According to the data, out of these 1,856 doctors who have not fulfilled their government duty, 1,310 have not yet paid their bond amount, which now stands cumulatively at ₹ 65.4 crores. This information was provided in response to inquiries made by Kirit Kumar Patel, MLA from Patan, and Dinesh Thakor, MLA from Chanasma.

Five years ago, medical students had to sign a bond agreeing to serve for three years, with a bond amount of Rs 1.5 lakh. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this requirement was revised, and currently, students are required to serve for one year in any chosen government-run healthcare facility designated by the health department or pay a bond amount of Rs. 10 lakh.

It is noteworthy that out of 872 MBBS graduates, 57 percent did not fulfil their service obligation in 2022–23, 84 percent in 2020–21, and 75 percent in 2021–22.

A senior health department official told the media that one reason for MBBS students not fulfilling their obligations and paying the bond amount could be their pursuit of medical postgraduate (PG) courses. The official also mentioned that there is an ongoing process to recover the pending bond amounts from students who have not fulfilled their duty. DeshGujarat