No eligibility certificate to candidates with less than 80 per cent marks: Madras HC

Chennai: The Madras high court on Friday prohibited the Medical Council of India and the Union government from issuing eligibility certificate to students, who secure less than 80 per cent marks in the qualifying examination to get admission in medical colleges/institutions of foreign countries.

 Pointing out that in the past 10 years, only 15-25 per cent of candidates with foreign medical degrees have managed to clear the mandatory screening test conducted by the National Board of Examination to practice the profession in India, Justice N.Kirubakaran passed the prohibitory order.

 “The details would only make one to understand that the minimum marks of 50 percent prescribed by MCI has to be revised and higher marks have to be prescribed as minimum marks as the percentage of candidates passing Foreign Medical Graduate Examination is very less. Therefore, for this year, the minimum marks to be prescribed should be raised from 50 percent to at least 80 percent”, the judge added.

The judge said the students, who were unable to complete the under graduate course in medicine in time and unable to clear the eligibility test in time, cannot render quality medical service. 

Moreover, the money invested by a student to become a graduate in medicine has to be earned by him. With heavy competition, it may not be possible for him/her to get back the money spent for the medical course. Hence, there was likelihood of malpractices by those candidates in an attempt to get back the money spent. 

The said situation cannot be ruled out, though there may be doctors, who were still interested in rendering quality medical services to the poor people in spite of the money spent by them. Unless more marks were prescribed to get eligibility certificate, this kind of trend cannot be averted. 

“Hence, there is an urgent need for the MCI as well as the Government of India to prescribe minimum marks of 75 to 80 percent to get admission in foreign medical colleges, as otherwise, the adverse consequences, would definitely follow, which may not be in the interest of the people, nation, the students and their families. Therefore, interest of justice requires that there should be a direction to the MCI or any successive body to be established by the government of India to act immediately to prevent the occurrence of a foresaid negative consequences” the judge added and posted after 4 weeks, further hearing of a petition field by Thamarai Selvan.