Seeking graduation in medical colleges outside India: Is it a ‘win–win’ or ‘lose–lose’ situation for the stakeholders and the nation?

ABSTRACT

The future of Indian students who return as ‘foreign medical graduates’ (FMG) after training in certain countries is often uncertain. We collected data from newspapers, government resources and agencies involved in handling this issue. We analysed the current status of medical education in India, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and some neighbouring countries. Of approximately 1.4 million (14 lakh) students taking the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), about 5.8% get admission in medical colleges. There are about 554 medical colleges in India with 82 550 MBBS seats, 51.9% seats belong to the government quota. Parents who send their children to a foreign country to do medicine spend ?1.5 million (15 lakh) tò4 million (40 lakh) against an estimated annual income of ?1.2 million (12 lakh) and the child spends 4–6 years in a foreign country. Of 38 150 FMGs who took the examinations conducted by the National Board of Examinations from 2015 to 2018, 18.9% passed the FMG examination mandatory for registration to practise medicine in India. The National Medical Commission is trying to solve this issue by removing the age bar for entry to MBBS and recommending lowering of fees for MBBS in government quota. Seeking graduation in medical colleges outside India may not be advisable for those from the middle/ low-income group of India.