SC allows Indian medical students to clear MBBS finals

The Supreme Court of India has allowed medical students forced to return from Ukraine, China, and the Philippines due to Russia’s invasion and the Covid-19 pandemic to clear their MBBS examination.

Aishwarya Bhati, additional solicitor general of India, submitted before a bench led by Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai that a committee was formed to recommend that returned penultimate year students be offered a one-time chance to clear the MBBS final examination.

“The students may be offered a single chance to clear the MBBS final, both part one and two examinations (both theory and practical) as per existing NMC [National Medical Council] syllabus and guidelines without being enrolled in any of the existing Indian medical colleges,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a compliance affidavit, as reported by Economic Times.

It added that students can clear the examination within only a period of one year, and that they will be allowed to take the second part only after part one is cleared.

Students then need to complete two years of compulsory rotatory internship after clearing both examinations. The first year of the internship will be free while the second year is already paid.

The recommendations are strictly a one-time option and could not become a basis for similar decisions in the future, the committee noted.

The government also stated that the theory examination will be done centrally and physically, similar to the Indian MBBS examination. Designated government medical colleges will administer the practical examination as well.

In September 2022, the central government told the Supreme Court that it cannot accommodate the medical students who had returned from Ukraine due to war, the NDTV reported.

Several students who completed online courses but were unable to complete clinical training due to unforeseen events had also earlier filed petitions to the Supreme Court.