Thousands of Indian students travel out of the country for a basic medical degree simply because of its more affordability and less competitiveness .While travelling abroad for a coveted degree in a specialisation of choice is well documented ,what drives undergrad students ? It can not ,after all, be easy to leave behind the comfort of homeland and family and spend years in a foreign country where everything from the weather and language to food and teaching are alien.

There must be a strong driving factor ,which is partially revealed by figures submitted by the Ministry of Health.as per data submitted in december 2021, there were 88120 MBBS seats and 27498 BDS seats  available in India .Against these seats ,the number of students who registered for NEET was 15-16 lakhs .So what happens to students who don’t get a seat for medicine ? 

 This is where an MBBS programme in Ukraine, Uzbekistan ,Russia ,China or the Philippines comes in .A seat in medical school in these countries is much cheaper than one in a private college in India ,where courses cost close to 1.25 crore in a reasonably good institution .Moreover the courses there are far less competitive than in India .

In February 2018 ,it was made mandatory to pass NEET to get an eligibility certificate to study MBBS in medical colleges abroad , besides the usual criterion of students getting at least 50% in Physics ,Chemistry and Biology in class XII.However , most countries that accept Indian students allow entry at low NEET scores.

NEET exam carries a total of 720 marks .On an average ,a general category student must score over 550 to get a shot at a seat in good government college in India through the all India quota.Whereas an aspirant planning to go abroad needs to score only the cut – off marks ,which in 2021 for a general category seat was 138 .

“While high scores in the NEET exam are not what eventually make a good doctor ,the exam does give an insight  into the capability of a student to get through a demanding course”, as said by a senior consultant of the Indian Medical Association .

The former IMA president says the NEET exam favours those who can afford coaching and the investment required to crack the paper ,which leaves a number of student at a disadvantage .It’s what that led the Tamil Nadu government to oppose NEET when it was made compulsory stating that it went against the interests of its State board students .

But studying abroad has its own pitfalls .For instance ,NMC advises students against enrolling in countries such as Kazakhstan that offer a bilingual course as NMC guidelines do not recognize bilingual courses in India .English is mandated as the sole medium of instruction .

 Besides this, in the present crisis generated by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, students who have returned are not sure how they will finish their graduation 

NMC does not recognise any medical courses conducted online . Undergraduates are now looking at Egypt ,Uzbekistan ,Poland ,Armenia ,Georgia as potential destinations to finish their courses . As per the Indian Medical Council Act ,students need to clear the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam in order to register and practise in India.

“The percentage of aspirants who clear this exam has not gone above 20%,which speaks to the quality of education that foreign graduates are exposed to ,”.But due to cost being so exorbitant what can students do ?

The next logical approach is  for the Centre to step in and rationalise the fees .

Some doctors point to an overwhelming desire ,especially among middle-class families to somehow see their children become doctors .There is a strong status symbol attached to it .

“Taking advantage of this ,there has been a mushrooming of colleges in many nations to offer medical degrees at much lower cost than in India .The present crisis has only brought this issue to the forefront.

Perhaps the way ahead is to open the gates, set up eligibility criteria for infrastructure and teaching standards alone and set a cap on fees .Only adequate , affordable and high-quality medical education will make students opt for India.