On Tuesday, the Supreme Court permitted Indian medical students returned from China, Ukraine, and the Philippines due to the covid pandemic and the war to clear the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) final exam following the existing National Medical Commission (NMC) syllabus and policies without being registered in any medical institution in India.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath revised the Centre's advice of permitting just one attempt as a one-time option effort and disposed of all the pleas of the students.

The Centre has submitted a report which stated that as a one-time measure, penultimate-year students must be permitted to take the MBBS final exam.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, stated that in view of the direction of the Supreme court, a committee was assembled by the government over the problem.

The court followed that it is no expert and broadly welcomed the recommendation made by the newly formed committee. It said the only suggestion of concern was that the students were to be provided only one go to clear the MBBS examination and hence revised it.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by medical students who finished seven semesters in their international universities and had to return to India due to the pandemic and concluded their undergraduate medical course/programme via online mode.

The batch of pleas sought accommodation of such UG students of first to a fourth year from different medical colleges and universities to Indian medical institutions and other reliefs.

On December 30, 2022, the Centre set up a committee, under the chairmanship of DGHS, to find solutions for issues faced by international medical graduates from Ukraine and China- who have completed online lessons of UG medical courses/programmes from the penultimate year ahead.

The panel had suggested the students may be provided only one attempt to clear the MBBS final exam, both part-I and II (both theory & practical), as per the current NMC syllabus and policies without being registered in any of the existing Indian Medical Institutions. This proposal had been revised by the top court to give two chances.

The committee recommended that they can attempt and clear the examination within one year. Part-I followed by Part II after one year. Part II will be allowed after an individual clears Part-I, adding that the theory paper exam could be performed centrally and physically, on the pattern of the Indian MBBS exam, and practical tests could be scheduled by some designated government medical institutions, assigned the responsibility.

The panel has stated that after clearing these two exams, they would have to complete a compulsory rotatory internship of two years, the first year of which will be unpaid and the second year paid, as has been settled by National Medical Commission (NMC) for earlier cases.

The committee has stressed that this chance be a one-time opportunity and not become a foundation for similar decisions in future and shall be suitable for a present situation only in view of orders of the court in the matter," it had said in its recommendation.

Last year, on December 9, the top court asked the Centre to find a solution in consultation with the NMC in order to address this humane problem.

It said we are sure that the Union of India will provide due importance to our recommendation and find a solution for these students, who are undisputedly support of the nation, especially when there is a shortage of Doctors in the country.

It had reported that a very precarious condition has occurred, the students have already finished their course/programme, and now it will not be achievable for them to return to the respective colleges/universities in order to complete clinical training in so far as the connection between them and their institution is severed.

The court mentioned that all the students have already passed Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) and recommended that the Centre may consider setting up a Committee in the area to find a solution.

It agreed with the view of the Centre that in a medical study, practical or clinical training is of the greatest importance, and theoretical studies cannot take over the place of practical training.

The bench said there are diverse situations beyond human control, and a disaster like the Covid-19 pandemic has been unbelievable.

The court said we find that the career of approximately 500 medical students who put in five years of education are at stake. They have already finished seven semesters of study offline and three semesters online. The parents of the students must have paid a huge amount for their studies. At this stage, if no solution is there, the career of these students would be in danger.