The National Medical Commission (NMC) has asked states and UTs to remove seat leaving bond policy in medical colleges in order to create a supportive atmosphere to address mental health concerns of medical students.

President of the Under Graduate Medical Education Board of the NMC, Dr Aruna V Vanikar, in a letter addressed to the Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education of all states and UTs said, “the Commission has received grievances pertaining to the alarming levels of stress, anxiety and depression faced by medical students specially PG students”. Some medical students face mental health challenges primarily due to different environment conditions in new colleges or institutions, Dr Vanikar said.

As a substitute of seat leaving bond, NMC’s Anti Ragging Committee recommended debarring students from taking admission in their state for the next one year.

Seat leaving policy refers to an agreement between the medical college and the student that requires the latter to pay a substantial sum, up to 40 Lakhs should the student choose to drop out of the course in the middle of it. In both publicly funded and privately managed medical colleges, the practice is common. Such exorbitant amount not only exacerbate the financial strain on students but also deter to seek necessary mental health support.

The common practice was started with an aim of securing commitment, discourage abrupt resignations, address seat blocking and wastage of medical seats. Nonetheless, medical seats—including PG seats—have grown significantly and even remained empty during the past ten years.