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Between 2019 and 2024, an average of 17 lakh students attempted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Out of this, an average of 9.8 lakh students cleared the test for admission into a medical college.
But for these 9+ lakh students, there are only an average of 90,500-odd college seats across the country to fight for. This means an average of only 10% of qualifying candidates can be accommodated for.
This is what The Quint's analysis of NEET data over the last five years from the National Testing Agency (NTA) showed.
The ongoing controversy surrounding the 2024 NEET-UG exam, one of India's toughest and most coveted medical tests, has impacted the lives of nearly 23.3 lakh students. This has brought back into conversation the struggle that aspiring doctors in the country face year after year.
Where do the rest 90% of students go? Is medical education in India affordable? Why do aspirants move abroad to pursue MBBS? The Quint explains.
As of 2024, India is home to 706 medical colleges that offer 1,09,170 seats, National Medical Council (NMC) data shows. This includes seven central universities, 382 government colleges, 320 private and deemed colleges.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare statistics reveal that between 2011 and 2024, the number of medical colleges in India more than doubled to 706 from 335.
Since its introduction seven years ago, the number of NEET aspirants have doubled from nearly 12 lakh in 2017 to 23.3 lakh in 2024. On an average, around 56% of students qualify each year.
Further, only an average of 10% of those who qualify end up getting a seat in medical colleges.
Chennai-based Dr GR Ravindranath of the Doctors' Association for Social Equality told The Quint that the rise in number of applications can be attributed to the fact that the "desire to study medicine still holds a lot of value in the Indian community."
What's interesting to note is that though the number of colleges has increased in the last decade, the demand for medical education in India continues to outstrip the supply.
Pointing to the magnitude of the gap, Maheshwer Peri, Founder of Careers360, a publication covering the education sector, explained how the competition in India becomes even fiercer when price is factored in.
This is primarily because the annual fees in AIIMS and other government colleges are relatively affordable from a few thousand to a maximum of a couple of lakhs for the entire course. Fees of private medical colleges can range between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore for a 4.5-year course.
Another issue highlighted is the low cut-offs, which they say is creating a pool of candidates with the capacity to pay hefty MBBS admission fees in India even if their ranks are low.
In a YouTube video for Careers360, Peri claimed that seats in private and deemed universities are "reservations for the rich."
"Those who cannot afford private medical colleges and do not manage to secure a government seat either re-take the exam or end up studying abroad. The number of registrations will increase over the years primarily because students re-take the exam," Peri added.
The rising cost of private medical education and stiff competition in India has driven many students to seek alternatives abroad in Asian and East European countries in the last six to seven years.
The number of Indian students studying medicine abroad increased from 3,438 in 2015 to 12,321 in 2019, as per the 15th Finance Commission report.
*Note: There is no exact data available on the total number of students pursuing medicine abroad as of 2024.
Gaurav Tyagi, founder of consulting firm CareerXpert, told The Quint that there is a brain drain in medical education in India, with West Asian, South American, and Eastern European countries (like Kazakhstan, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey) emerging as options for Indian students.
The cost of medical graduation in war-torn Ukraine, for example, stands at about Rs 15 to 20 lakh for the entire duration of six years.
In Bangladesh, the total cost ranges between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh, while in Philippines, it is around Rs 35 lakh.
In Russia, students can complete their medical education for about Rs 20 lakh, including hostel expenses.
Those who have deep pockets prefer Singapore, the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, Tyagi added.
Not just lower fees, these foreign varsities also demand NEET qualifying marks for admission. Their cut-off is as low as 110, but for the leading medical colleges in India, the cut-off range is 715-720.
Peri, however, says that most of these students typically end up returning to India. "Many students return to India and take the FMGE examination to practice here," he adds.
FMGE or Foreign Medical Graduates Examination is a compulsory screening test that a foreign MBBS holder must undertake in order to be eligible to practise in India.
So as to ensure quality, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare conducts the FMGE exam twice a year.
According to the National Board of Examination (NBE) that conducts this exam, the number of medical graduates who took the test doubled from 28,597 in 2019 to 61,616 in 2023. But an average of only 21% pass the exam.
In 2023, while an all-time high record of 61,616 MBBS graduates took the test, only one-sixth or 10,261 students passed the test.
While roughly around 30% of Indian MBBS students from Bangladesh cleared FMGE in 2023, only 17% from Ukraine were able to pass the test.
Meanwhile, former Union Health Secretary Sujatha Rao told The Quint: "I am glad that the exam is tough as in most of the countries like China, education is very poor. So, one can't blindly have these students start practice here."
According to a February 2024 report by Anand Rathi Investment Firm, the cost of medical education in India is likely to double in the coming years.
Experts told The Quint that more capacity needs to be created within India. "India has a huge population and it needs doctors, but the NMC is holding on to it because that's the only way you can price your qualification better," they said.
In 2022, when thousands of MBBS students were stuck in Ukraine during the war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the private sector to invest in the field of medical education.
While experts believed that there is a need to increase the number of colleges and seats per college, they said that it was equally important to "keep the feed affordable."
Meanwhile, Dr Ravindranath said: "The demand should be reduced by ensuring that more colleges are being set up by Central and state governments. It is the responsibility of the state to provide medical education and health care. The fees of the private colleges should be fixed in nominal way."
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
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