India issues advisory for medical students about pitfalls in China

India has issued a comprehensive advisory for aspiring students who wish to study medicine in China, making them aware of the pitfalls, including low pass percentage, mandatory learning of the official spoken language i.e. Putonghua and challenging norms to qualify to practice in India.

As thousands of Indian students studying in Chinese medical colleges are currently stuck at home for more than two years due to China’s COVID-19 visa ban. The official reports state that over 23,000 Indian students are currently enrolled in various universities in China. Keeping in mind that a vast majority of them are medical students, India issued this advisory. 

Over 2 years of pandemic visa restrictions, China has recently started visa processing for a selected number of students. India and China are still in talks to work out limited flight facilities keeping in view China’s quarantine restrictions.

The advisory highlighted the results of the studies, including the difficulties faced by Indian students in China and the strict norms they face to qualify for practising medicine in India. As per the advisory, only 6,387 out of 40,417 students who appeared in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination of the Medical Council of India (MCI) from 2015 to 2021 cleared the exam. 

The advisory included 45 medical colleges deputed by the Government of China to provide medical degrees in a 5-year duration plus a 1-year internship. Prospective Indian students are advised not to seek admission in any other colleges than those listed in the advisory. 

After completion of the internship, students must clear the Chinese Medical qualification examination and attain a physician qualification certificate to practice in China, the advisory included.

Indian students who are seeking medical qualifications from China are required to clear the NEET-UG exam, an entrance examination for UG medical education in India, as a requirement to pursue medical education abroad. 

Students who are planning to enrol in any university in China must ensure the following:

• The university is on the list of 45 universities
• Duration of the course
• Curriculum being offered
• Language of instructions
• Mode of education (online or offline)
• Fee structure 
• Visa requirements 

The advisory also mentioned that China’s Education Ministry had not released any separate ranking of various Chinese universities which offer clinical medicine programmes. However, the embassy composed a table per the pass percentage of Indian students in the FMG Examination. 

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