Students who want to study MBBS abroad will no longer need to obtain eligibility certificates from the Medical Council of India.
Due to severe shortage of MBBS seats in the state, nearly 10,000 students opt for medical colleges in China, Russia, Central America, the Philippines among others every year.
There are only 6,200 MBBS seats in the for which over 1 lakh candidates compete in Eamcet.
Getting the degree in these countries is relatively cheaper. A student can complete MBBS abroad in less than Rs 30 lakh. In the state, the student has to pay, apart from the fee, a donation of up to Rs 80 lakh to get a seat in management quota. All this totals to Rs 1.5 crore.
But students wanting to study in these countries had to obtain an EC from the MCI, which was an ordeal taking several months. The MCI had to obtain data from the Board of Intermediate Education and the SSC Board to verify the students’ age and educational qualifications for doing their MBBS abroad.
Most students turned to brokers to get the work done quickly. Those who took admissions directly without obtaining the EC were barred from appearing for the MCI’s “screening test”. which these students have to mandatorily clear to be eligible to practice in India.
A public notice issued by the MCI states: “Indian citizens who intend to acquire primary medical qualification from any foreign country on or after 15 May, 2013, are not required to obtain the Eligibility Certificate from the Medical Council of India. However, they are required to fulfil the eligibility criteria for admission to MBBS course as laid down in the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 1997.”