1166 Medical Students Dropped Out, 119 Committed Suicides in Last 5 Years, Reveals RTI

New Delhi: Altogether 1166 medical students dropped out of their undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses, and 119 medical students committed suicide in the last five years, revealed the data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) application.

The data in this regard was shared by the National Medical Commission (NMC) while responding to an RTI application filed by a member of the United Doctors' Front (UDF).

Filing the RTI application, the association sought data regarding several issues, including the number of MBBS and PG students who dropped out of their courses in the last five years, the number of MBBS and PG medical students who died by suicide in the last five years, etc. Data was also sought regarding the number of student dropouts and deaths by suicide at the Institutes of National Importance (INIs).

1166 Dropouts & 119 Suicides in Last Five Years: 

In response to the RTI, the Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) of NMC informed that, as per the information submitted by 512 medical colleges, altogether 1,166 medical students dropped out of their courses in the last five years.

Among these, the total number of UG student dropouts is 166, and the rest were PG students who discontinued their courses. The data revealed that 114 MS General Surgery students, 50 MS Orthopaedics students, 103 Obstetrics and Gynaecology students, 100 MS ENT students, 56 MD General Medicine students, 54 MD Paediatric Students and 529 students from other branches dropped out of their PG medical courses.

Regarding the number of students who died by suicide in the last five years, the data shared by NMC revealed that altogether 119 UG and PG medical students committed suicide in the last five years. Among these 64 students were pursuing MBBS and 55 students were pursuing PG medical courses.

Number of dropouts at INIs: 

The RTIs filed by UDF further revealed that overall 56 PG students quit their courses at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur in the last five years, whereas total 122 students dropped out of their courses at AIIMS Bhubaneswar during the period of 2020-2024 and 276 PG medicos quit their courses at JIPMER. However, AIIMS Bhubaneswar informed that no PG students committed suicide at the institute.

Total number of complaints received by PGMEB, NMC: 

UDF also sought details about the number of complaints received by NMC on ragging, irrational workload from PG medical students, on long working hours, bullying and verbal abuse by senior students, or on power abuse by HOD/ thesis guide or faculties etc.

In response, the Apex Medical Commission revealed that its Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB) section received 1680 complaints between 2020-2024.

The data shared by the INIs revealed that 27 such complaints were received at AIIMS Nagpur, and 4 complaints were received at JIPMER. 

Sharing the data on X (formerly Twitter), the National President of UDF, Dr. Lakshya Mittal wrote, "The silent cries of India’s resident doctors—ignored for decades. Over 1100 PG dropouts. 119 suicides | 1680 complaints. @UDF_BHARAT #RTI exposes horrifying data from top institutes like AIIMS, JIPMER, and AFMC. Time for the system to act."

"The distressing figures revealed through UDF’ RTI—over 1100 PG dropouts, 119 suicides, and 1680 complaints—are a stark indictment of the collapsing support structure for resident doctors in India. These are not just statistics; they represent real lives and aspirations lost to systemic burnout, neglect, and institutional silence," Dr. Mittal informed Medical Dialogues. 

"Despite the Supreme Court’s earlier directions, the 1992 Central Residency Scheme directives remain only on paper. UDF strongly demands their immediate and uniform implementation nationwide, with clear enforcement of duty-hour regulations, weekly offs, and mental health safeguards," he further mentioned.

"In pursuit of justice, we have also filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the issue and are hopeful that the Hon’ble Court will take cognizance and ensure meaningful, ground-level reforms that safeguard the future of India’s medical workforce," Dr. Mittal added.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that last year, while responding to an RTI application filed by activist Dr. Vivek Pandey, NMC had revealed that in the last five years, 122 medical students committed suicide and 1,270 medicos dropped out of college.

Also Read: 122 Suicides, 1270 Drop-Outs in Last 5 Years: NMC Constitutes National Task Force to address mental health concerns of medicos