During the last six years, the intake capacity in undergraduate medical courses has been increased by 29,185 MBBS seats. Further, according to the Health Ministry, the government is implementing Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) to increase 10000 MBBS seats in the existing 539 government medical colleges in the country. Under the CSS, the government also plans to set up 26 new medical colleges attached with existing district/ referral hospitals at Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The centre envisages setting up 75 more medical colleges, through the CSS, by 2022-2023.
The information was given by Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. He was replying to questions on medical education asked by GS Basavaraj.
To the question on how many candidates qualify the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE), a screening exam for students who obtain the medical degree outside the country, Mr Choubey said in the last four years National Board of Examination has conducted the FMGE for 61,708 candidates out of which 8,764 have qualified the exam.
When asked on this abysmal performance of students in FMGE, the Minister said "the medical institutions / Universities of foreign countries admit Indian students without proper assessment or screening of the students' academic ability to cope up with medical education with the result that many students fail to qualify the FMGE."
Of all the nations where Indian students study medical courses, majority go to China followed by Russia Federation and Ukraine. However, less than 15% of the students are able to clear the exam which is an eligibility test to be a medical practitioner in the country.
For students who have obtained the medical degree from India, a common exit exam called NEXT is held in the MBBS final year to practice medicine and admission to PG medical courses.
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