Do not sign provisional certificate: Government

HYDERABAD: The state government has further toughened its stand on the demands of junior doctors by directing the superintendents of teaching hospitals not to sign the provisional certificates of house surgeons which are a must to apply for post-graduation admission test.There are about 1,900 house surgeons doing their internship in all the teaching hospitals in the state and their internship would end by March 31.The candidates, who completed the internship after the four and half years MBBS course are only eligible to appear for PG admission entrance test. The candidates must enclose their internship certificate with the application form.The candidates, who are presently doing the internship must submit a provisional certificate duly signed by the superintendent of the hospital and principal of the respective medical college along with the application form. But the state government is understood to have directed the principals of teaching hospitals not to sign the provisional certificates to force the house surgeons to withdraw from the ongoing junior doctors agitation.The NTR Health University had issued the PG admission notification with February 15 as  the last date for submission of online application and other enclosures.The principals of teaching hospitals were refusing to sign the provisional certificates making them ineligible to write the PG admission test.Speaking to Express, registrar of NTR Health University T Venugopla Rao said that they would reject the applications, if a candidate fails to submit all the mandatory enclosures which are listed in the prospectus of PG admission entrance test.A house surgeon of Gandhi Medical College told Express that they are planning to send the application forms without the provisional certificate as the principals were refusing to sign them. The house surgeon alleged that the state government is adopting strong-arm tactics to break the strike by scaring the house surgeons who are intent on doing PG course.He said PG students and the house surgeons had a meeting here on Monday to decide their future course of action in view of principals refusing to sign on the provisional certificate. Junior doctors association member Naresh said that the house surgeons have decided to participate in the strike, despite the principals refusing to sign the certificates.