10,000 foreign returned MBBS fail screening test in India!

Failing to clear the compulsory screening test of the Medical Council of India (MCI) left nearly 10,000 Indian graduates, who completed their MBBS abroad, unemployed or under-employed.

Students who had pursued medicine abroad since 2002 had to take the screening test conducted by MCI. Individuals who cleared the test administered by the National Board of Examinations would get certificates from the state medical council. Receiving the certificate authorized them to do a year-long internship in a university or hospital in the state.

The screening test is held in March or September and about 75% of students fail. Till now, the highest pass percentage has been 50% in 2005, otherwise pass percentages have ranged from a mere 9% in 2003 to 27% in 2011.

Chief patron of All India Foreign Medical Graduates' Association – Dr Ameer Jahan told news reporters that each student had spent Rs 15 to 20 lakh to study abroad. Moreover, medical courses pursued aboard are nearly seven years long as compared to the five-and-half-year medical course in India. And every time students fail the screening test, it puts them behind by six months in their planned careers.

But making a very important point in this regard, a senior MCI official said that unlike several other courses, Medicine cannot be taken lightly. “Doctors deal with lives  We want to convince ourselves that every doctor is adequately trained." The officials also said that they would not cancel or dilute the test, reported TOI.

Demanding the test to be scrapped, the graduates are planning to approach the Prime Minister and Parliament.

This issue cannot be ignored. Do you think any medical degree holders who are unable to qualify the standard screening test of the Medical Council of India (MCI), be allowed to practice the profession?  Is it not necessary to clear the test to prove professional competence? Would you get yourself or your loved ones treated by such a doctor, if you knew their qualification? Please share your thoughts.