Hyderabad: The Union ministry of health and family welfare has approved the proposal of the Medical Council of India (MCI) to make it mandatory for students to pass NEET to obtain an Eligibility Certificate (EC) to pursue courses in foreign medical colleges.
The MCI came out with the proposal after it was brought to the government’s notice that foreign medical institutions and universities admit Indian students without proper assessment of academic ability to cope up with medical education, with the result that many students fail to qualify in the screening test.
Earlier, Indian students were allowed to pursue medical education abroad and had to qualify a screening test called Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE) to register to practise in India after doing MBBS abroad. Now, it is mandatory for them to pass Neet to even pursue a foreign medical course.
According to the health ministry, the result of Neet will be treated as the eligibility certificate for such students, provided that they fulfil the eligibility criteria for admission to the MBBS course prescribed in the regulations on graduate medical education, 1997.
Indian overseas citizen’s intending to get primary medical qualification from a medical institution outside India after May 2018 will have to qualify Neet for admission to MBBS course abroad, the ministry circular said.
