If you are thinking that NEET is not for you as you have plans to pursue the MBBS from a foreign university then get your facts correct as the government is mulling over the plans to make NEET compulsory for the students who wish to pursue medical education from the foreign universities.
Currently, any candidate who wishes to pursue the medical education in government/private institute of the nation has to clear the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET). The exam came into existence in 2016.
According to a senior health ministry official, the proposal is at an advanced stage.
The official said "A mere 12 to 15 percent of the graduates, who come back after studying abroad, manage to clear the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE). If they don't clear the FMGE, they don't get registered to practice in India. In such cases, they start quackery or practice illegally which can be dangerous. So the move is aimed at ensuring only competent students get to study medicine in foreign universities."
Every year more than 7000 students go outside India to study the medicine.
“As per the data, the percentage of graduates who have studied abroad and have cleared the FMGE has ranged between 13 and 26.9 percent in the last five years. This is really a matter of concern as they go out, spend a lot of money of their parents and are not able to contribute to the healthcare in India once they come back,” the official explained.
Once the new proposal is approved, those aspiring to study medicine outside India will be given a No Objection Certificate (NOC) only if they clear NEET, the official added.