HYDERABAD: Although many students from the Telugu states spend years abroad studying medicine, many are finding it difficult to return home. Most of them are unable to clear the FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduates Examination) — a mandatory screening test conducted by the Medical Council for citizens returning with foreign medical degrees.
“The lesser percentage is an indication of the education standards, particular in the former Soviet bloc, where English is not the main language. Also, a majority of students going there are the ones who did not get study opportunities in India. Hence, it is proving to be a huge task for them to be at par with the standard of medical education taught here,” MCI member K. Ramesh Reddy said.
Some preferred countries include Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, China, Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh etc.
T. Krishna Prasad, an overseas education consultant, said Telugu students mostly prefer the Philippines, China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This year, over 2,000 students from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will be heading for medicine study abroad, he said.
According to N.S. Murthy of the Telangana Medical Council, FMGE came into effect in 2002 and it is a must for students who graduate from countries other than the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
