Judgement on NEET qualification mandate for overseas MBBS aspirants
Posted on: 03/Sep/2018 6:10:47 PM
The judgment for a petition, demanding no NEET qualification for MBBS aspirants planning to study medicine abroad is pending with the High Court of Delhi. The final hearing is expected to take place anytime soon.
If the hearing goes in favor of the petitioner, MBBS aspirations who did not clear NEET this year can hope to enroll in overseas MBBS colleges without any constraints.
"Many students may lose the chance of enrolling for MBBS this year as they have not qualified NEET. There are less than 60,000 medical seats in India including both Government and private medical colleges. The key reason why students go abroad to study medicine is because of lack of seats in India, cost effective education fees and an opportunity to practice abroad with better pay packages. Many students will lose a year or more if NEET qualification remains the deciding criteria for pursing MBBS in abroad," said Saju Bhaskar, President of Texila American University, an overseas university based in the Caribbean.
It is to be noted that once a foreign medical graduate returns to India to practice as a doctor, he will have to go through a stringent process of clearing FMGE exam. Only once he clears it, he can practice as a doctor in India.
"There is no need to have so many levels of knowledge test screenings. If FMGE is mandatory for foreign medical graduates then there should be no need for them to qualify NEET exam to study abroad. Students will be left with no choice but to waste years in the hope for clearing NEET or drop their dreams of becoming doctors," says Radhika Madan, a MBBS final year student studying in a college in Russia.
Students are hopeful that the judgment will be a positive one and that they will not have to waste more time.
"My admission process is stuck half-way. I wanted to study in a college in South America but unfortunately due to prolonged illness I could not perform well in NEET and was unable to clear it. Studying in South America would have given me brighter future prospects since I would have the option to do P.G. in the U.S. and practice as a doctor in there. Now I have to wait until the High Court passes it`s judgment," says an MBBS aspirant, Rajesh Bedi.
