Rural practice must for doctors

The government is likely to pass a law that makes it mandatory for medical graduates to take up a year's posting in rural areas. The goals behind this are clearly very noble, but I am not sure whether having a compulsory service is the right way to go about this. History has shown repeatedly that compulsory military service in countries like Germany, Lebanon, and Iran has been criticised by its own citizens, and so much so, students migrate (read, run away) abroad for studies and never come back because they fear that they will waste valuable time in the military service. India has never had such a law, and this reflects very positively on the democratic characteristics of the country. Besides, forcing anybody to do anything makes it lose its value and importance.

In my opinion, this should be made into a voluntary service, and candidates should be selected only on the basis of merit and honest dedication to the cause. In the long term, this will actually make rural medical service a prestigious activity, for which students will be given certificates of appreciation, and awards for their contributions. For example, somebody who helps in the setup of a new rural clinic should be much highly ranked than somebody who just serves in an existing clinic for a year. And somebody who helps in other initiatives like campaigning for the promotion of clean sanitation and hygiene will be even higher ranked. Last but not the lease, if recruitment into hospitals can be based on whether somebody has served in a rural area or not, then this will be even better.