Explained: Why eastern Europe is popular with Indian medical students

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Ukraine and other eastern European countries like Romania and Bulgaria are popular destinations for Indian students pursuing medicine.

Why Eastern European countries are popular for Indian medical students?

Easy Entrance Criteria: There are no entrance exams to pass in order to gain admission to medical schools.(Since 2018, India has made it mandatory for students going abroad for their MBBS to also give the NEET-UG exams).

Medium of Instruction: English is the medium of instruction. Hence, it is simple for aspirants, and they do not have to worry about learning a foreign language.

Less Cost: The cost of graduating in medicine in Ukraine is around Rs 15-20 lakh for the entire duration of six years. In India, fees of private medical colleges can range between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a 4.5-year course.

Less Competition: In Ukraine, there is at least one medical college for every 1.7 lakh people. On the other hand, in India, there is one medical college for every 25.7 lakh people.

Credit Transfer: In Ukraine, universities follow the European Credit Transfer System, which makes it easy for students to change institutions in Europe during their course.

Can students study MBBS in foreign universities, practice medicine in India?

When students return to India with foreign MBBS degrees, they must take the National Board of Examinations’ Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) to receive a license to practise medicine in India. An analysis of FMGE results showed that only 16.48% of those who applied for the test in 2020 passed it. Only 16.6% of students from Ukraine were able to pass the test.

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: Why eastern Europe is popular with Indian medical students” published in Indian Express on 28th February 2022.