90% Indians who study medicine abroad fail to clear NEET: Union Minister

NEW DELHI: Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday claimed that “90% of Indians who study medicine abroad fail to clear qualifying exams in India”, as per reports. A total of 1,396 Indians were brought back home in six flights as part of the evacuation mission and the total number of Indians who have left Ukraine since India issued the first advisory earlier this month is around 8,000.

According to reports, among the Indian students who goes abroad for medical studies, 60 percent are going to China, Russia and Ukraine for pursuing medical courses. MBBS courses in India are comparatively expensive as private colleges charge tuition fees amounting to Rs 45 to 55 lakhs or more. But MBBS courses offered in countries such as Ukraine cost around Rs 35 lakh including living expenses, coaching and clearing screening tests.

Also read | Russia Ukraine Crisis: Indian student killed in Kharkiv

Although more than seven lakh candidates clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), there exists only around 90,000 medical seats in India. If one manages to score good marks in NEET, they can enrol in government medical colleges, where education is cheaper, or get admission to government quota seats in private colleges.

Also read | High MBBS fees forced student to choose Ukraine, reached campus minutes before war began

Those who score comparatively fewer marks will have to study in private colleges where the management charges high admission fees. There are around 20,000 such management quota seats in India. There are also NRI quota seats which are also expensive. The fees for management quota seats can range from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1.20 crore.