MERIT MATTERS

No. of med aspirants eyeing foreign shores may fall by half
Experts Say NEET Could Be Tough To Crack

Vinayashree.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai: With the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) now mandatory for students seeking to pursue medical education abroad, experts predict around 50% drop in the number of students going abroad to medical universities. This, they say, is because most students who go abroad are mid-level students who may not be able to crack the highly competitive NEET.

As per MCI figures, more than 60,000 students who pursued medical education abroad have been unable to clear the MCI screening test after returning to India in the last four years despite repeated attempts, says educationist Jayaprakash Gandhi. This is not about the standard of universities but rather the lack of practical exposure to the Indian medical environment, say experts. Many students are yet to match up to the level of the medical council standards.

Every year, at least 20,000 students from South India opt for medical education abroad, say agents who send students abroad.

The compulsory NEET may particularly affect students from the state as TN is one of the regions from where many medical aspirants go abroad.

“Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab are among those states which send many for medical education abroad. An estimated 50,000 students go from across states while 10,000 students (approx) may be from Tamil Nadu in recent years,” said Paul Chellakumar of Campus Abroad.

Chellakumar who guides students pursuing foreign education says making NEET mandatory is a good decision but it would kill the dreams of many who would earlier have the alternative of applying to medical education abroad.

This will certainly curtail the number of students going abroad, said Chellakumar.

“It is indirectly telling students not to go out of the country for medical education. Imagine if all engineering aspirants have to clear an IIT-JEE to be eligible to apply for foreign universities. It is not fair for a large section of students as you are not providing an alternative option,” he said.

Instead, some academicians suggested a separate exam for students wishing to go abroad with certain compromises in the system to facilitate students who may not be scoring in the range of 90% or accustomed to the CBSE patterns.

“In a way, the decision to make NEET mandatory for these students is a good one as only capable students must go. Many of them come back in first or second year of education. These competitive examinations are set to test the practical knowledge of the Indian medical environment so it is a welcome move. We can definitely expect a fall in numbers this year when it comes to those going abroad,” said Gandhi.

While UK and few other European countries have high percentage cut-offs and also are more expensive, it is countries like Philippines, China and Russia which are the popular destinations for medical education, most of whom require only around 50% aggregate at Class XII level too and also charge much lesser. Philippines, being an English speaking country, is one of the most favoured destinations with a course fee of around ₹2 lakh.