Tripura: Bond mandatory for MBBS nominees

Agartala, May 16: In a bid to prevent 'brain drain' and ensure better health care facilities, Tripura government has decided to make security bond mandatory for students who want to study MBBS under the state's quota.

Elaborating on the state cabinet decision, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar told UNI today that any student, availing state quota for Medical studies, has to give a written commitment that he or she would serve under the state government for at least five years, including two years in interior locations of the state.

The chief minister said the SC and ST candidates would be bonded for Rs 2 lakh, guaranteed by one person, while the general candidates would be bonded for Rs 5 lakh, guaranteed by two persons.

He lamented that about 298 students of different categories had gone for studying MBBS in various Medical colleges of the country during 1995-2001 under state government quota but only 53 of them returned to the state so far.

The state government was sponsoring the students in Medical colleges for the betterment of health care facilities in the state but unfortunately, most of the talented doctors were working outside Tripura to earn more money, without caring for people's sufferings in their state, Mr Sarkar observed.

He added that instead of fulfilling their duties towards their state which was sponsoring them, a section of the doctors did not want to come back even if they were paid less elsewhere.

Consequently, the state government would introduce the bond and security assurance from the students who wanted to avail state quota for higher studies, which would be initially introduced only for the medical courses.

The state government had also assured to employ the doctors within six months of awarding degree, failing which the bond would be nullified for the candidate and he or she could move out of the state.

Mr Sarkar alleged that security bond was mandatory for the MBBS students since 1978 but the Congress-led coalition government had withdrawn it in 1988 because of which the state health service had shortage of qualified health experts.

UNI