Number of Medical Students Going Abroad on the Rise

The number of students going abroad for medical courses has gone up and is rising. This was revealed in a response to a recent RTI application which stated that MCI has issued 3,386 more eligibility certificates to foreign medical aspirants in 2018 as compared to 2017, an increase of about 24%. The number of Indian students went abroad for pursuing medical courses has doubled this year. Obtaining an Eligibility Certificate (EC) was made mandatory in January 2014. At present, students planning to pursue MBBS abroad must clear NEET-UG in India to obtain EC.

A set of students is those who are looking at topmost colleges in the UK, but there is another set who are unable to get a seat in any government medical college. Private medical colleges are really expensive, so students prefer Russia, China and maybe even Bangladesh and Nepal, Dr. Jayashree Mehta, former Medical Council of India’s President said.

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These students end up choosing institutes and countries recognized by India so that once they are back, they can clear the eligibility test and then practice. A lot of such colleges have tie-ups with Indian institutes. So, these students are also prepared for eligibility test back home, Dr. KK Agarwal, President of the Heart Care Foundation of India said.

Agarwal also said if the number of medical colleges in Nepal and Bangladesh rises, the number of students will also go up. There are employment opportunities in these countries too. For students in the IB schools, applying abroad is easy as to study medicine in India, a student needs a combination of physics, chemistry and biology.

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IB students are not allowed to take more than two science subjects, except with special permission.