Explained | What is the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam?
The Hindu
Indians earning primary medical qualifications from foreign universities have to clear an exam before practising medicine in the country.
The story so far: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday claimed that 90% of Indians who complete their medical degrees from foreign universities are unable to clear the qualifying exam to practise medicine in India. The statement came in wake of the high number of Indian medical students stranded in Ukraine as Russia wages a war on the country.
Joshi, however, also added that this was not the right time to debate why students are opting to pursue medicine courses in foreign universities.
Students who complete their medical degrees from foreign universities are required to take the Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE) in order to pursue medicine in India. The exam is held twice a year for Indians and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and is conducted in English language. National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences, a body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is responsible for conducting the exam.
Section 13 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 states the terms of recognition for medical degrees in India.
Indian citizens who obtain their primary medical qualification from outside India will be required to appear for a screening test, without which they will not be allowed to enrol on any Medical Register maintained on the national level or by any State Medical Council.
The FMGE was introduced through Screening Test Regulations 2002 of the Medical Council of India (MCI). These regulations set the eligibility criteria and other details related to the exam as per Section 13 of the Indian Medical Council Act.
According to the regulations, only Indian citizens who have obtained a primary medical qualification from a country mentioned in the World Directory of Medical Schools published by the World Health Organisation can appear for FMGE. This directory currently lists 34 operational medical schools in Ukraine.
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