High Court allows Chinese varsity students to pursue PG in RGUHS

 The High Court of Karnataka has ruled that students who have obtained a degree in Medicine from a Chinese university are eligible for post graduate courses in the State, provided they posess an eligibility certificate from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

As a relief to such students, the High Court has disposed of a petition seeking to treat the degree of medicine obtained from a Chinese university on a par with MBBS course here.

Two students based in Gulbarga, Dr Mohammed Mudassir and Dr Mohammed Azharuddin, had completed the undergraduate course in Medicine at Zhengzhou University in China and applied for the postgraduate entrance examinations conducted by the RGUHS in the State. 

When the RGUHS rejected their applications for PGCET in 2013, the two students decided to take up examinations in 2014-15 and approached the RGUHS registrar for permission. When their request was turned down, they moved the High Court.

During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners, Gurudas S Kannur, submitted that the students, as per the guidelines of Medical Council of India, after completing their course in China, had taken up a screening test, which is mandatory for students who study abroad.

 “The petitioners have been allowed to take the examinations conducted by the COMED-K, Manipal, the examinations conducted by National Eligibility and Entrance Test [NEET] and Diploma in National Board,” the counsel said.

Kannur cited the registrar’s reply to the students that the candidates should be from Karnataka and must have studied MBBS or BDS outside Karnataka, which is recognised by Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India and Government of India. He said that on earlier occasion, RGUHS rejected the application stating that ‘foreign studies not allowed’.

 Stating that the university misinterpreted the regulations, the counsel sought directions to declare the degree obtained by the students from Zhengzhou University be treated  equivalent to MBBS degree awarded in India. “It has been recognised by the MCI by providing eligibility certificate to study in China and enrolling them after they successfully cleared the screening test,” the counsel submitted.

The counsel for the university submitted that the RGUHS had no objections if the students posess an eligibility certificate from it. 

Justice Anand Byra Reddy, who disposed off the petition, said, “The petitioners are re-assured that there shall be no objections in them taking examination, if they possess eligibility certificates issued by the RGUHS. Therefore if the petitioners do not posess the eligibility certificate of RGUHS, it would not be a good reason to prevent the petitioners from taking the examination. The petitioners without any further orders of this court shall be permitted to take the examination.”