MBBS Bond Policy Sparks Student Protests: What's Exactly Happening in Haryana?

The Haryana government has proposed amendments to the bond policy, but the students have rejected it.

For over a month now, MBBS students in Haryana have been protesting the ‘bond policy’ imposed by the state government in 2020. Ten students from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak are on a relay hunger strike against the policy.

Their demands have to do with the bond amount, service tenure, and more. The state government has proposed some amendments to the policy but students are still unsatisfied and have said that they will continue with the agitation.

So, why exactly are the future doctors from Haryana unhappy? Who has come out in support of the students? What's the government doing about it?

We explain.

First, What Is a Bond Policy?

The policy requires students studying medicine in government medical colleges in different states to serve in their respective state hospitals for a specified period of time, after completing their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. Those who fail to do so are required to pay a penalty.

• In Haryana’s case, the bond amount is Rs 40 lakh, which includes their MBBS fee i.e. Rs 3.71 lakh, and the service period they are bound to is seven years. So, an MBBS student failing to serve in a government hospital will have to pay an amount of Rs 36.28 lakh in installments.

Government medical colleges make their students sign the bond because they provide subsidised medical education.

What Are Their Fears?

Akash Mehra, a third-year student at PGIMS, however, says that it feels like “less of a service bond and more of a fee hike.”

“The government wants us to work for seven years in a government-run hospital. But they are not obliged to give us a job after completing our MBBS, because there are not enough vacancies.”

So, if the government “is failing to provide jobs to doctors, eventually we will have to pay the bond amount,” he says.

Twenty-year-old Priya Kaushik, a second-year student at PGIMS, adds that the bond amount is so high that not everyone can pay it. “We work hard to get admission in a government medical college. But Rs 40 lakh is a huge amount.

”Moreover, Akash says that working for seven years after an MBBS degree might be detrimental to a doctor’s career.

“It will get difficult for them to pursue a postgraduate degree or super-specialty,” Akash says, adding that “we understand that it is our responsibility to serve the state as we are receiving subsidised education, but the bond tenure should also be reduced.”

Speaking to The Quint, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) national president Sahajanand Prasad Singh says that the IMA and the entire medical community stand with the protesting students.

“I went to meet the students. The son of a farmer was crying when he told me that his parents sold their land to get him admission. How will he pay Rs 40 lakh?” he asks.

“I request the government not to play with the lives of students. Doctors put their lives in danger to serve the people. They did so during COVID. No one wants to strike. So, I am requesting the government to fix this problem."

And Their Demands?

As protests continue, students pursuing MBBS degrees in Haryana’s government medical colleges are demanding that they be provided with a compulsory posting at a government hospital within two months of graduation.

They also want the posting tenure to not exceed one year, so that there are ample vacancies for the next batch of students.

The students also want the government to reduce the bond amount. If a doctor fails to work under the compulsory posting, then the bond penalty imposed on them should not exceed Rs 10 lakh, they say.

Also, if the state government fails to provide them with a job within two months of graduation, then the doctor should be relieved from the bond.

And lastly, they demand that if a doctor manages to secure a PG seat in India during their compulsory posting, they must be allowed to pursue their education and complete their posting after the course.

The Quint has reached out to the concerned authority for comment; this story will be updated when we receive a response.  

How Has the State Government Reacted?

Haryana's Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday, 1 December, announced new amendments in the state's bond policy. What are the amendments?

• The bond tenure has been reduced from seven years to five years. Moreover, if a student enrolls in a postgraduate course during their service tenure, then that course period will be counted towards government service.

• The bond amount has been reduced from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

• Female students will have to pay 10 percent less than the specified bond amount.

• Students will get a contractual job by the government within one year of completing their MBBS.

• In case of any untoward incident with an MBBS student, the family will not be bound to pay the bond.

An official government notification for the same is yet to be released.

Where Does the Union Government Stand?

Different states and Union Territories have different terms for their bond amount. For example, Goa, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu have a bond amount of Rs 5 lakh, while Uttarakhand has a bond amount of Rs 1 crore for MBBS students, according to news agency PTI.

The Union Health Ministry, meanwhile, is working on guidelines to do away with the bond policy based on the recommendations of the National Medical Commission (NMC), reported PTI earlier this month, citing sources.

This comes after the Supreme Court, in 2019, upheld the bond policy of the states and observed that certain governments imposed rigid conditions. It further suggested that the central government and the medical council should frame a uniform policy for bond service across states.

A committee constituted by the Health Ministry submitted a report regarding the same to the NMC for comments.  

The NMC stated that since the promulgation of the bond policy by various states, much has changed in medical education in the country, and therefore, it may be worth reviewing the merits/effectiveness of this policy.

“The NMC submitted its detailed observations. In view of its observations and notwithstanding the observations of the SC upholding the legalities related to the bond policies of the state governments, the commission was of the considered view that medical students should not be burdened with any bond conditions, and doing so may run contrary to the principles of natural justice,” the source said, as quoted by PTI.