[ad_1]
While the Indian medical and academic fraternity believes the current Russia-Ukraine war calls for immediate humanitarian help for foreign graduates back in India, the same cannot be done at the cost of diluting the standard of education in India, say experts.
Medical faculty and practitioners alike have welcomed the National Medical Commission (NMC)’s move to allow foreign medical graduates (FMGs) to complete their internship or practical training in Indian medical colleges.
Further, NMC has now asked state medical councils to process completion of internship of these candidates provided they have cleared the foreign medical graduate examination (FMGE). FMGE is a licentiate examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) in India as one of the mandatory requirements for Indian citizens who obtained a medical degree from a college outside India to practice medicine in India. Held twice in a year, FMGE will be held on June 4 and December 17, 2022.
However, the licentiate examination has seen a dismal pass percentage of sub-20 per cent in 2020 to 24 per cent in 2021, thereby raising questions on the standard of teaching in countries from where FMGs gain their medical training before taking the FMGE test in India.
“NMC has done what it could to help these students on a humanitarian basis. But FMGE is an examination whose standard cannot be brought down for the sake of students. If only 24 per cent are able to prove that they can match the Indian medical standards, then the onus is on the students. At the end of the day, we need quality doctors in India,” said Pratik Patel, dean of NHL Medical College, Ahmedabad.
Similarly, speaking at a panel discussion hosted by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, dean – faculty of medicine, Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Patna said that either tougher questions in FMGE or poor quality of teaching in foreign medical colleges could be the reasons for such a low pass percentage among FMGs.
“These FMGs were only trapped in Ukraine and needed evacuation… Already, NMC has allowed internships with stipends which is a great favor. But a sudden dilution of the standard is not possible. The FMGE test is conducted to bring foreign graduates at par with the Indian education system,” said Prasad.
However, offering a couple of solutions, Prasad said that with NMC regulations requiring FMGs to complete an MBBS program in 10 years, the returned students still had buffer time to complete their degrees as well as India could look at providing them special training to help with the FMGE examination.
Experts like Dr G S Grewal, president, Delhi Medical Association (DMA) too point out that an emergency situation like war could not lead to change in the entire education system. “Let’s not confuse rehabilitation of citizens including students with accommodation and take steps as a knee jerk reaction. The question is to bring FMGs at par with the Indian medical undergraduate courses which have been brought in through FMGE,” Grewal added.
In other potential solutions, Ravi Wankhedkar, treasurer, World Medical Association (WMA), said the students could not look to rejoin their colleges once the war was over in Ukraine, there were possibilities of neighbouring countries like Poland willing to accommodate these students for the same fees.
“A thorough discussion with all stakeholders is needed for the government to come out with an acceptable solution without dilution of academic norms and standards,” said Wankhedkar.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
[ad_2]
Source link