More than 7,50,000 Indian students went abroad to pursue higher education in the past year, the central government told Lok Sabha on Friday.
In her reply to Lok Sabha, MoS Dr Bharati Pawar said a total of 7,50,365 students went abroad for higher studies in 2022.
In comparison, the number of such students rose to 5,18,015 students in 2018 from 4,54,010 students in 2017.
The number of students studying abroad further rose to 5,86,337 students in 2019.
The number of students who went abroad for education had dipped to 2,59,655 students in 2021 owing to the Covid pandemic.
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Responding to a query on medical students studying abroad, Pawar said, “As informed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), approximately 1.2 million Indian students are studying abroad, including all streams of education. However, specific data of Indian students pursuing medical courses abroad is not available.”
The minister also responded to a question on the ‘Academic Mobility Programme’ and ‘Academic Transfer Programme for Ukraine-returnee students.
“As informed by MEA, a total of 3,964 Indian medical students have got admissions under Academic Transfer Programme. Further, around 170 students have enrolled themselves in Academic Mobility Programme”, she said.
The Academic Mobility Programme is a temporary relocation to other universities in different countries, whereas Academic Transfer Programme is a permanent shift to a new medical college in the same country or a different country altogether.
In her reply, Pawar also underlined that there are no provisions to admit foreign medical students in any Indian medical institutes.
“There are no such provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 & the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the Regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges. No permission has been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute/university”, she added.
Responding to a question by Congress MP Anto Antony and Shiv Sena MPs Krupal Balaji Tumane and Bhavana Gawali on the steps taken by the government to ensure the safety of such students studying abroad, Pawar said the Indian Mission in various countries is in regular contact with relevant authorities, including various ministries, local administration, universities and institutes for ensuring the safety of students.
Pawar also highlighted a scheme by the National Medical Commission under which Indian students who were in the last year of their undergraduate medicine course and, due to COVID-19, Russia-Ukraine conflict, had to leave their foreign medical institute and have subsequently completed their studies.
These students who have been granted a certificate of completion of course/degree by the respective institute on or before June 30, 2022 are permitted to appear in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination.
“Upon qualifying for the FMG examination, such foreign medical graduates are required to undergo Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) for a period of two years to make up for the clinical training which could not be physically attended by them during the undergraduate medicine course in the foreign institute as also to familiarise them with the practice of medicine under Indian conditions. Foreign medical graduates get registered only after completing the CRMI for two years,” added Pawar in her reply.