Doctors' Association for Social Equality

Undergraduate students from five medical colleges in the Capital held a protest march on Friday against Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' decision to add one year compulsory rural service to the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) programme.

MBBS students from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), Lady Hardinge Medical College, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) and University College of Medical Sciences carried out the five-kilometer march from MAMC to Jantar Mantar, showing their support for fellow medical students in Tamil Nadu who have been protesting against the decision for the last two and a half months.

"We do not mind going to rural areas and offering services, however, it should not be a part of the degree. It does not make sense; the government should send senior doctors instead of students.The degree is already the lengthiest of all undergraduate degrees, with another year added, the government is only trying to cut down on its public health expenditure by mandating free services from us," said Harkirat, President of AIIMS Students Union.

According to medical students the Central government spends a mere 0.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on health expenditure against the World Health Organisation recommended 5 per cent.

From http://in.news.yahoo.com/071123/32/6nmm5.html