PHOTO: NNI

LAHORE: Medical students will now have to furnish a surety bond for Rs3 million at the time of admission as an undertaking that they will serve in the primary healthcare sector for at least a year, Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique said on Thursday.



He said the chief minister had approved the new policy and it would it be implemented this year in public medical schools across the province.



He said the idea was to strengthen the primary healthcare sector. “If a student violates the bond, they would have to pay Rs3 million to the government.”



Rafique said the government spends at least Rs3 million on the education and training of a medical student over five years. “However, after they graduate, many MBBS students, women in particular, quit the profession.”



He said because of that the exchequer suffered a heavy loss and the government remained unable to overcome the shortage of doctors in public hospitals.



He said the annual fee for a student at a public medical college was Rs18,000. The new policy will ensure that no one abuses the privilege, he said.



“The government is looking to overcome the problem of shortage of doctors and to provide the best possible health facilities to the poor…this policy will go a long way in ensuring that.”



Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2015.