The Ministry of Health under the military council, following direct orders from Min Aung Hlaing, is implementing restrictions on medical graduates who refuse to serve as government employees, including denying them their medical degrees, blacklisting them, and prohibiting their travel abroad, according to sources from the Ministry of Health in Naypyidaw. Health Minister Thet Khaing Win is executing these restrictions under Min Aung Hlaing’s directives, reportedly in retaliation for the widespread participation of doctors and healthcare workers in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) following the military coup.
The Ministry of Health under the military council has called for applications for the 16th, 17th, and 18th convocation ceremonies at medical universities in March. However, they announced that graduates who do not serve as government employees will not receive their medical degrees, will be blacklisted, and will be banned from traveling abroad. These restrictions are being implemented across all medical universities in the country, including University of Medicine 1 Yangon, University of Medicine 2 Yangon, and University of Medicine Mandalay. The situation particularly affects recent graduates, including those from the final year Part II (6/2018) batch, who completed their studies before the military coup but are now facing these punitive measures.
When applying to medical schools in 2012, students were required to sign an agreement to either serve as government employees for three years after graduation or pay a compensation of one million kyats if they couldn’t fulfill this service requirement. However, the military council is now refusing to accept monetary compensation from those who choose not to serve as government employees. Instead, they are implementing a comprehensive set of restrictions including withholding medical degrees, imposing travel bans, blacklisting graduates, and preventing them from pursuing master’s degrees and other postgraduate studies. These restrictions are widely viewed as retaliatory measures by the military council against medical professionals, particularly in response to their strong stance against military rule and their participation in pro-democracy movements.
