‘Though it is an online test, the results are declared only 45 days later’
Ashutosh Kumar Singh should have established his medical practice by now, but five years after graduation he is still waiting to clear the screening test in India.
Ashutosh graduated from a Russian university. He has taken the test several times in vain. “We have no idea about the exam pattern and there is no transparency. The test is supposed to check if we went to medical school but they ask questions that require extensive clinical experience which a UG doesn’t get anywhere,” he says.
In 2002, India launched a paper-based two-hour screening test for foreign graduates and declared the test results a few hours later. But now, though it is an online test, the results are declared only 45 days later. The tests are also of longer duration now, students say.
“In the early years of the test, the pass percentage was around 40 to 50. It has now fallen to three or four per cent,” says Dr. Ameen, who graduated from a Russian medical college in the 1990s. Each time, the students pay Rs. 5,500 as test fee.
There are around 15,000 candidates waiting to clear the screening test. They claim that they are being asked PG-level questions that require wider clinical experience. Some students who had made several attempts claim they have been awarded the same marks in every attempt. “We have graduated but still depend on our parents. It appears that our crime is we did not study MBBS in this country,” Mr. Singh lamented.
For decades, friendship between India and erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republic had encouraged students to pursue higher studies there. According to A. Najeerul Ameen, president of the All India Foreign Medical Graduates Association, over 50,000 doctors who had graduated in that country since 1961 were practising or working in government and private sector in India.
A few months ago, the Union Health Ministry instituted a committee under Ranjit Roy Choudhary to look into the functioning of the National Board of Examinations that conducts the test. It is expected to submit its report next week.
On Sunday, the association jointly with the Russian Centre of Science and Culture organised the forum of Russian and erstwhile USSR medical graduates of India.
In the early years of the test, the pass percentage was around 40 to 50. It has now fallen to three or four per cent, says a candidate
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