Recognition from the Medical Council of India and a global ranking of premier Chinese universities makes them attractive for Indian students. Most applicants for medical courses in China come from Rajasthan and Kerala. The trend is also catching up among students from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat. Nikunj Sharmaexplores various aspects of why Indian students choose China for medical education. **
By Nikunj Sharma
Medical education in India finds it hard to meet its objective of ideal doctor-patient ratio, which is one doctor to serve 1,000 people.
With the existing ratio of 1:1700, the country has a shortage of about one million qualified medical professionals. Owing to this shortage, around 600 million Indians lack in quality medical care from licensed doctors. The government of India is looking to bridge this gap by the year 2031, but a crucial challenge surrounding the availability of sufficient medical institutes and seats offered by them is persistent for many years. There are only 479 registered medical institutions in India, which are approved by the Medical Council of India (MCI) to offer MBBS courses with an annual intake capacity of 61,070 students, including the government school seats.
Medicine is the best draw for Indian students pursuing studies in Chinese universities, attributed to lower course fee than UK and the US. Besides, students can get admission in top medical institutes without having to worry about clearing tough National Medical Entrance Exam Test (NEET) in India. Also, the courses offered by Chinese universities are in English medium and degrees are recognised by the MCI (Medical Council of India).
“As compared to countries like Russia and Eastern Europe, which were originally the choice of students to study MBBS abroad, MBBS in China has emerged as the favourite destination for the students,” says Ved Beniwal, Director of Universal Consulting Services. “Rajasthan and Kerala are the top two states of India from where most students fly to China for their medical studies. The trend is also catching up among students from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat,” explains Beniwal.
For the academic year 2019-20, MCI has approved 45 universities and colleges in China for pursuing medical courses. The 45 English medium medical universities offer a total number of 3,370 seats for international enrolment, out of which more than 50% seats are taken by Indian students alone. According to the reports available, this number rose to more than 70-80% for Indian medical aspirants when the MCI approved 214 Chinese medium universities to study MBBS in China in 2017-2018.
During these years as good as 7000-8000 students from India migrated to study MBBS in China.
“Due to limited availability of seats for international students in Chinese universities, the student intake in MBBS programs remain more or less consistent. We hope that this cap will be eased soon by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China,” anticipates Himanshu, who is employed with Saraswationline.com, a consulting firm that facilitates and guide students on study in China.
Global Ranking of Leading Medical Universities in China
Medical Education in China
Medical universities in China are awarded A, B and C grade by the Chinese Ministry of Education on the basis of various parameters such as infrastructure, student-teacher ratio, quality of education and faculty.
Nitesh Dunda, a resident of Jaipur, India, who is currently studying at Harbin Medical University in China informs, “When it comes to MBBS, China has better medical education infrastructure and facilities with affordable fees when compared to other foreign countries. But learning Chinese language is quite a task and one has to give sufficient time and effort to earn language proficiency.”
Some of the top-rated medical universities and institutes in China include Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu University, Capital Medical University, China Medical University (PRC) and Jilin University Medical School. Other popular institutes to study MBBS in China comprises of Guangzhou Medical University, Hebei Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Dalian Medical University, and Southern Medical University.
All the MCI-approved universities are recognised and funded by the Chinese government and the annual cost of MBBS tuition fee in these universities is around INR 3,00,000. Besides, an additional cost of INR 65,000-70,000 is enough for a decent stay in China.
These universities also offer benefits such as the degree awarded in medicine is under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and WHO, respectively. On completion of the course, medical graduates from these universities are eligible for all the medical licensing examinations worldwide. Besides, these universities offer curriculum in English medium, which is at par with western counterparts.
Easy application, admission, and documentation procedures assisted by authorised university representatives in India makes it hard to resist the opportunity. The Chinese government takes utmost care in ensuring the safety and security of foreign students through law enforcement, which is again a plus point compared to other foreign countries.
Hyderabad based Akhilesh Vangari is currently pursuing final year MBBS from Nanjing Medical University (NMU). While sharing his experience, he says, “Fee structure, exposure and freedom are the main advantages to choose China over other foreign locations. Though classes are conducted in English, I feel learning Chinese is an added advantage as it helps students to better understand the practical sessions apart from better survival.”
FMGE Test
Foreign Medical Graduate Entrance (FMGE), a voluntary test to get a license to practice medicine in India was mandated by the MCI in 2002. Every year more than 10,000 aspirants take FMGE test, but the average qualifying percentage for FMGE during last seven academic sessions for foreign MBBS degree holders is just 15 per cent. However, there is no restriction on a number of attempts or age to appear for this test.
Table: FMGE Qualifying Percentage of Foreign MBBS Degree Holders
Speaking about the low pass percentage for FMGE, Akhilesh avers, “I think low pass percentage can be attributed to the fact that most of the exams are in theory, and Indian students studying in China are not so fluent in Chinese. So they are unable to attempt multiple choice questions.”
To support students in cracking FMGE, there are dedicated institutes in major cities of India. A MBBS degree without FMGE is valid for all other professions that require MBBS as a qualification except the practice of medicine in India.
Currently, China has signed a bilateral diploma and degree recognition agreement with more than 50 countries. However, the Ministry of Education and the Scholarship Committee of China is working towards signing a similar agreement with Indian authorities as well.
