MCI amends controversial rule on disabled doctors

MCI amends controversial rule on disabled doctors

1. Medical Council of India (MCI) has released guidelines which has allowed students with locomotor disability of above 80% are to be admitted into post graduate degrees like MD and MS.Earlier,MCI had allowed only candidates with less than 80% locomotor disability of the lower limbs to study medicine.
2. A petition was also filed in the Supreme court on the ground that it is in violation of the The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act,2016.
3. Locomotor disability is defined as a person’s inability to execute distinctive activities associated with moving both himself and objects, from place to place.Such inability results from affliction of musculoskeletal or nervous system.
4. Locomotor disability is covered under the disabilities Act,2016.The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 is the disability legislation passed by the Indian Parliament to fulfill its obligation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,which India ratified in 2007.The Act replaces the existing Persons with Disabilities Act,1995.
5. The act added 14 new disabilities to the previous list of seven.It also raised the quota from 3% to 5% in Higher education.The Act also says that any candidate whose disability is equal to or more than 40% will get the benefit of the reservations in education and employment, preference in government schemes and others.