Foreign docs flunk India test
Holders of foreign medical degrees perform miserably in the qualifying exam for joining medical practice in India.
According to figures available with the National Board of Examination (NBE) which conducts the qualifying exam, of the 14,476 students that appeared in the screening test in 2012, only 3,150 were qualified to practice in India. In 2011, 13,270 medical graduates took the exam, but only 3,576 were qualified.
The number of foreign medical degree holders who got permanent registration with the Medical Council of India has also been meagre. The figures stood at 2,541 and 1,077 in 2011-2012 and 2010-2011, respectively.
According to officials, MBBS graduates from countries like Russia and China are the worst performers. In 2010 and 2011, out of the total 7,854 students who did their MBBS from Russia, only 1,133 passed in the screening test here. China too performed badly. While 5,185 students appeared for the examination, only 1,133 students passed.
On the other hand, the pass percentage of MBBS graduates from Nepal has always been on the top. Of the 333 students coming from Nepal in March 2011, 116 (35 per cent) passed. In the same year, 61 students from Bangladesh appeared for the exam and 31 (51 per cent) passed.
The students who take medical graduation from Bangladesh, though very less in number, perform better in the screening test in India. Figures reveal that 50 per cent of students who complete their MBBS from Bangladesh pass Indian test. In 2010, 54 per cent of these students from Bangladesh passed.
Statistics also reveal that the majority students who do not get admission in Indian colleges go either to Russia and China to study medicine.
According to National Board of Examination, 482 students went to China and 424 to Russia in 2010 to study medicine.