Mohammad Shaloo who completed his MBBS last year, wished to pursue further studies in radio diagnosis for which he cleared his NEET and even finished counselling. However, the sudden changes in the Medical Council of India guidelines has left the polio-stricken man ‘ineligible’ for pursuing post-graduation.
The 27-year-old suffers from a 90 per cent disability, which according to the amendment to Graduate Medical Education, 1997 — notified on February 4 — disqualifies him as a medical student.
Despite both his legs being affected with polio, Shaloo, from Nagaur district of Rajasthan, was determined to become a doctor. He went to Kota for coaching and in 2011 got admission in the government medical college in Ajmer under the disability quota after being certified as having over 50% disability.
After MBBS, he did eight months as a junior resident (JR) in the paediatrics department of his college and was then selected on a temporary basis as a JR in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi where he worked for a year. He then cleared the NEET PG exam.
However, in the Safdarjung’s PMR department, he was told that he had over 90% disability and therefore, was “ineligible for admission”.
As per few reports, the eligibility guidelines for undergraduate medical education fixed by MCI and notified on February 4 stated that those with disability beyond 80% would be ineligible for MBBS. This was despite the health ministry suggesting that the amendments to the Regulations for Graduate Medical Education 1997 should allow students with over 80% locomotor disability to appear for MBBS entrance and determine their functional competency with the aid of assistive devices if they were selected.
Shaloo is now planning to approach the Prime Minister for help.
Meanwhile, several other doctors have also come out against this change and written to both Union Minister of Health, JP Nadda, and MCI Board of Governors, condemning the revised regulations.
