What is the new bond / surety policy? 

In July 2025, the government of Punjab introduced a contentious new bond and surety system for students seeking MBBS and BDS admissions in its government medical and dental colleges. The purpose, according to the state’s Department of Medical Education and Research, was to make sure that graduates contribute to public healthcare services instead of immediately shifting to private hospitals or moving abroad.

Under the revised system, every MBBS student cornering a government seat must sign a bond of ₹20 lakh, pledging that they will serve at least two years in a Punjab government hospital or primary health centre after the conclusion of their degree. If the student fails to fulfil this obligation, they are liable to shell out the bond penalty amount.

What makes this policy particularly prickly is the requirement that parents (or guardians) must pledge two immovable properties as sureties, each worth not under ₹20 lakh. In effect, the family of the student needs to show ₹40 lakh worth of property documents before he or she can even begin attending classes.

The new rule has been communicated to medical colleges like Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, and Government Medical College, Patiala. Colleges in turn have instructed students to submit the surety documents before they are allowed to continue with their coursework. Extensions have been granted in few cases, but the rule itself has still not been withdrawn.

This approach differs hugely from other states that have implemented comparable service bonds. For instance:

• In Haryana, students are required to provide a surety or bank guarantee but not inevitably immovable property.
• In Uttar Pradesh, service bonds exist but property pledging is not obligatory.
• In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh also, penalties for skipping rural service exist, but affidavits and bank guarantees are acceptable alternatives.

Punjab’s property-based requirement has therefore quite naturally become one of the strictest in the nation. Families without significant assets—especially those from middle-class or rural agricultural backgrounds—fear exclusion from government MBBS opportunities in spite of clearing the NEET examination on merit.

While the Punjab government has defended the move as a way to guarantee compliance with the bond, critics contend it places needless financial barriers in front of students. Some families, even if they possess property, hesitate to risk pledging or mortgaging it for a child’s education.

Who is Opposing It, and Why 

The bond and surety rule has triggered widespread opposition across Punjab and beyond. The backlash is not limited to any one group. It spans students, parents, civil society, doctors’ associations, and even political parties. Each group has voiced distinct but overlapping objections, creating a loud chorus of dissent against the policy. To appreciate the full scope of opposition, we must examine these perspectives one at a time. 

Students’ Voices: Property barriers undermining merit

Students (the primary stakeholders in MBBS admissions) have been the loudest criticizers of the policy. For them, the issue is not only financial but deeply tied to aspirations, justice, and mental composure.

Key student objections include:

• Merit vs. Money Conflict: Students contend that admission to government medical colleges is supposed to be based only on NEET merit. By adding a ₹40 lakh property surety obligation, the government is indirectly converting meritocracy into wealth-ocracy, where financial assets become equally important as exam scores.
• Exclusion of Rural and Middle-Class Candidates: A large share of NEET aspirants come from rural Punjab, where families may own agricultural land but lack 2 high valued registered urban properties valued at ₹20 lakh each. Students fear that students from such families, in spite of being academically qualified, will lose opportunities.
• Mental Stress and Uncertainty: Students already face extreme stress preparing for NEET. Now, even after cracking NEET, many are overwhelmed by anxiety about whether their parents can fulfil the property conditions. This has led to certain reports of dejection and even withdrawal of admissions.
• Fear of Losing Property: Students fear about the potential long-term consequences if they fail to serve or shell out the bond. The idea of parents losing inheritance (ancestral property) over their career decisions generates immense psychological stress.

Student accounts highlight the gravity:

• A NEET ranker from Bathinda, who is son of a small shopkeeper, says he faces the prospect of losing his seat despite qualifying on merit as his father is incapable of providing property surety worth ₹40 lakh. 
• A girl from rural Sangrur says that her family only has agricultural land owned jointly with extended relatives—legally very complex and not at all acceptable under the surety requirement.

Parents’ Fears: Education Becoming a very Risky Gamble

Parents, who invest financially and emotionally in their children’s education, see the policy as nothing but a betrayal of trust. Their concerns revolve around financial discrimination, risk, and justice.

Main objections from parents:

• Impractical Requirement: Most middle-class families do not own two immovable properties worth ₹20 lakh each. Even if they own property, most hesitate to pledge it, fearing loss in case of default.
• Government vs. Private Paradox: Parents point out the irony that government colleges, preordained to offer affordable education, now impose stricter financial blockades compared to private colleges, which, although charging high tuition fees, don’t demand pledged property.
• Risk of Litigation: Parents fear being drawn into protracted legal battles if their children fail to fulfil the bond. In most cases, career plans alter after MBBS—students may move abroad, pursue PG, or marry. The idea of risking property under such ambiguous futures feels quite unreasonable.
• Urban Bias: Families lacking urban registered property—mainly those in rural Punjab—feel discriminated against. Many possess agricultural holdings that are either not valued at ₹20 lakh or are not in the requisite documentation form.

Indian Medical Association (IMA): Professional Outrage

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Punjab chapter has taken the lead in organized opposition. Representing thousands of doctors, the IMA’s stance is vital because it frames the issue not only as a student issue but also as a professional and ethical issue.

IMA’s arguments include:

• Regressive and Exclusionary: The IMA has called the policy “regressive” and “exclusionary,” stressing that it blocks talented but economically challenged students.
• Contradicts Public Health Goals: If fewer students can access MBBS in Punjab owing to property requirements, the state at risk of producing fewer doctors in the long run—reversing the very goal of improving healthcare access.
• Brain Drain Risk: By pushing students to seek education in other Indian states or even abroad, Punjab could deteriorate its brain drain, losing young talent permanently.
• Unfair Burden on Families: Doctors point out that the bond is already stringent; adding property surety is a needless punishment that serves no medical purpose.

The IMA has demanded an instant rollback, threatening that if ignored, it may lead to petitions, protests, and even strikes.

Resident Doctors’ Associations (RDAs): Warning from Within

Resident doctors, who themselves once endured service bonds, very well understand the ground reality of such policies. RDAs from Amritsar, Patiala, and Faridkot have expressed strong condemnation.

Their critiques are very sharp:

• Enforcement Through Coercion: RDAs contend that forcing property pledges creates antipathy rather than commitment among students.
• Risk of Flight: Rather than securing service, the punitive policy may push graduates to evade Punjab altogether, deteriorating the state’s healthcare shortage.
• Moral vs. Financial Enforcement: Doctors contend that rural service should be encouraged through training, incentives, and career benefits, not threats of property confiscation.
• Impact on Doctor-Patient Relationship: Young doctors who serve under coercion may be far less motivated, affecting the quality of healthcare delivery.

Political Opposition: Parties Seizing the Moment

Predictably, opposition parties in Punjab have latched onto the hullabaloo, framing it as yet another letdown of the ruling government.

• Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD): Panned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for “punishing students and parents instead of fixing hospitals.” SAD leaders contend that the government should better working conditions in rural health centres instead of imposing draconian financial rules.
• Congress: Has called the policy an “anti-poor, anti-student” measure and demanded an instant rollback.
• BJP Leaders in Punjab: Used the opportunity to accuse Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of hypocrisy, noting that its leaders had earlier panned bond systems in other states.

For these parties, the policy is a forceful political issue: it combines student discontent, parental apprehension, and professional discontent—three voter bases no government can afford to estrange.

Civil Society and Public Sentiment

Beyond organized groups, the general public sentiment in the state has also turned extremely critical. 

• Newspaper op-eds, television debates, and social media campaigns highlight the unreasonableness of the rule. Social media hashtags like #NoPropertyNoMBBS and #RollbackBondRule have trended in the region.
• Civil society activists contend that the rule represents a privatization mentality within government colleges, where public education turns conditional on wealth. 
• Education advocates stress that this sets a very dangerous example: if permitted in medical colleges, property pledges might eventually spread to other professional courses too.

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