Low pass ratio of FMGs shows poor quality of MBBS education abroad: Economic Survey

New Delhi: According to the Economic Survey 2024-25 tabled in Parliament recently, the very low pass percentage of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in the qualifying exam to practice in India indicates sub-par quality of medical education abroad.

“Unlike other professional education streams, fees for medical education are highly regulated… Despite several measures, fees remain high -– at Rs 60 lakh to one crore or more in the private sector which holds 48 per cent of MBBS seats. The consequence is that every year thousands of students go abroad to around 50 countries especially those with lower fees such as China, Russia, Ukraine, Philippines, Bangladesh,” the Survey said, reports PTI

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It noted that medical education abroad entails hardships of studying in foreign countries and productive years of youth getting invested in repeated attempts at exams — the NEET-UG before taking admission, the FMG exam on completing the course and then completing compulsory internships of 12 months in India.

The survey also recommended that as policy intervention to dissuade medical education abroad is crafted, keeping costs in India within reasonable limits is essential.

The survey flagged that FMGs in China (during COVID lockdowns) and Ukraine (as the conflict with Russia escalated) had to return to India, dropping their education and facing uncertain prospects.

“The subsequent regulatory issues in addressing the difficulties faced by FMGs and the need to maintain standards in allowing them to practice in India has been a challenge and has required interventions of the courts on more than one occasion. The very low pass percentage of FMGs in the qualifying exam (16.65 per cent in 2023) indicates the sub-par quality of medical education abroad including lack of clinical training. As policy intervention to dissuade medical education abroad is crafted, keeping costs in India within reasonable limits is essential,” the Survey stated, quotes PTI

The Survey flagged that the availability of opportunities for medical education appears to be geographically skewed, apparent from the fact that 51 per cent of undergraduate seats and 49 per cent of postgraduate seats are in the southern states. Further, the availability is skewed in favour of urban areas with the urban to rural doctor density ratio being 3.8:1.

“There is also a skewed distribution of seats in favour of specialisations like radiology, dermatology, gynaecology and cardiology while specialties like psychiatry, geriatrics etc are neglected. The current shortage of specialists across specialities will further aggravate in streams that are currently not preferred but will be required in the future,” it said.

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