Find solutions for foreign-returned medical students: SC to Centre, NMC

A bench of justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath expressed sympathy with the students who could not complete their clinical training in foreign countries such as China and Ukraine due to Covid and war.

While considering the batch of pleas by foreign medical graduates who completed their courses online but could not complete their clinical training in their institutes due to pandemic or war, the Supreme court directed the Centre and National Medical Commission (NMC) to find solutions for these medical students who returned from China and Ukraine.

A bench of justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath expressed sympathy with the students and observed that these students could not undergo their clinical training in their foreign universities due to unforeseen events and cannot go back to their universities because they have subsequently completed their courses, as reported by Web India.

The apex court directed the government to establish a committee of experts to find solutions for these foreign medical graduates as these students can be national assets when the country is facing a dearth of doctors.

The court noted that these students must have spent huge amounts and if the problem remains undressed, their entire career could be left in the lurch and their families will also suffer.

The next hearing on the matter is listed for January 2023.

Earlier, the court had advised the Centre to make a portal for these students to maintain transparency and share the latest updates. 

Amid the on going delay in the final verdict in this case, many students have started going back to Ukraine while the war is still going on.

Read more:

• 1100 Indian students still in Ukraine: MoS Meenakshi Lekhi
• Supreme Court hearing on accommodation of Ukraine returned medicos on Dec 8