Pending Eligibility Certificates: NMC Releases List of 119 FMGs, Gives Deadline to Submit Applications
New Delhi: Releasing a list of 119 Foreign Medical Graduates with pending Eligibility Certificates, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has set a 10-day deadline for such students to submit their applications and deficient documents in the eligibility portal of the Commission.
Issuing a public notice in this regard on Thursday, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the Commission further clarified that in case, these 119 applicants do not fulfill the deficiency or do not submit their applications within 10 days from the date of the notice their applications will be summarily rejected.
The matter came to the notice of the Commission during the recent scrutiny process of applications received for eligibility certificates. NMC Ethics Board reviewed the applications submitted by various applicants and after careful evaluation, the Commission identified some deficiencies in respect of the applications of the concerned 119 applicants.
In this connection, the Commission referred to Section 13(4B) Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, which states that "(4B) A person who is a citizen of India shall not, after such date as may be specified by the Central Government under sub-section (3), be eligible to get admission to obtain medical qualification granted by any medical institution in any foreign country without obtaining an eligibility certificate issued to him by the Council and in case any such person obtains such qualification without obtaining such eligibility certificate, he shall not be eligible to appear in the screening test referred to in sub-section (4A): Provided that an Indian citizen who has acquired the medical qualification from foreign medical institution or has obtained admission in foreign medical institution before the commencement of the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Act, 2001 shall not be required to obtain eligibility certificate under this sub-section but, if he is qualified for admission to any medical course for recognized medical qualification in any medical institution in India, he shall be required to qualify only the screening test prescribed."
However, the Commission also clarified that the requirement of taking an Eligibility Certificate before proceeding abroad has been dispensed w.e.f the declaration of NEET-UG 2019 results via the public notice dated 05.04.2019.
Referring to this, NMC mentioned, "...accordingly after 05 June 2019, qualifying NEET-UG Exam has been made mandatory and shall be deemed to be treated as an Eligibility Certificate for Indian/OCI citizen intending to take admission in MBBS or equivalent Medical Course in any Foreign Medical Institution."
Along with the notice, NMC released a list of 119 applicants who proceeded abroad without obtaining an eligibility certificate. Referring to such applicants, NMC mentioned in the notice, "Therefore, it has been decided by the Board to give 10 days time to all such applicants (Annexure-I) to submit their applications in the eligibility portal of NMC. In case, the applicants whose name is mentioned in Annexure-I do not fulfill the deficiency or do not submit the applications within 10 days from the date of publication of this notice the applications will be summarily rejected."
"We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Timely rectification of the deficiencies will expedite the processing of the eligibility certificates and help the applicants move forward with their respective endeavors. This issues with the approval of the Competent Authority (EMRB)," the notice further mentioned.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that despite completing all the required procedures in this regard, several candidates were facing problems in obtaining the mandatory eligibility certificate from the Apex Medical Commission. Even the FMGs who applied in 2021, 2022, and earlier months of 2023 were facing the problem.
Their applications were pending at some level and they were not getting the certificates. Therefore, they were missing their chances to appear in the FMGE test.
NMC Ethics Board on 19.09.2023 issued a public notice and informed its decision to allow personal hearings of pending eligibility certificate cases pertaining to the 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2021, on the basis of the receipt of applications for issue of Eligibility Certificate as per the portal.
Along with the notice, NMC also published a list of 118 candidates with respect to the records of Eligibility Cases pertaining to years 2018 to 2021 (On the basis of receipt of applications as per EC portal).
Earlier this year, the Union Minister of State for Health, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar addressed the issue of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) and informed the Lok Sabha that the delay in issuing eligibility certificates to the FMGs occurs due to delay in the validation of documents submitted by the candidates, verification of admission letter from the foreign medical institutions.
Last month, the NMC Ethics Board informed that the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) Screening Test may be scheduled tentatively in December 2023, and for this, the Commission invited applications for the mandatory Eligibility Certificates.
Clarifying that the candidates are not permitted to apply for the FMGE Screening Test without the Eligibility Certificates, the Commission had directed them to apply for the same through the NMC website by October 25, 2023.
To view the recent notice by NMC, click on the link below:
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/nmc-notice-eligibility-certificates-225021.pdf
