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The National Medical Commission (NMC) has given differing responses to aspiring doctors seeking clarity on whether foreign MBBS degrees are valid for practising medicine in India, according to Press Trust of India.
Legal experts allege that the medical education regulator's unclear position has allowed education consultants, allegedly working with foreign medical colleges for large commissions, to mislead students into pursuing degrees abroad whose validity in India is uncertain.
Two aspiring doctors used the PM Grievance Portal to ask whether completing a six-year MBBS course in Georgia would make them eligible to take the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), which they must clear to practise medicine in India.
In its first response, dated September 24, the NMC reiterated its 2021 regulations. It said the degree would be valid for taking the FMGE only if Georgia granted graduates an independent licence to practise medicine after they completed the course.
However, in a response dated October 13 to the same question from another candidate, the NMC said the provisions related to the independent licensing system were being examined by the competent authority and an expert committee.
PTI sought clarification from NMC secretary Raghav Langer, but he did not respond.
โEducation consultants who allegedly receive hefty commissions from foreign universities are misleading students by citing the second response, which said that the matter is under examination,โ Sachin Jain, a Delhi High Court lawyer who handles medical matters, told PTI.
โThey are promising students that the โindependent licence conditionโ will be revoked or bypassed through various other mechanisms, enabling them to appear for the FMGE and practise medicine in India,โ Jain said.
โThis will jeopardise the careers of thousands of students, as the NMC can only recommend that the government amend the law. It cannot do anything else because the law was framed by Parliament,โ he added.
Candidates said a third question was submitted through the PM Grievance Portal, asking which of the two earlier responses was valid. The NMC, however, only reiterated the provisions of the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021.
Georgia's National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE) has also published frequently asked questions that, according to legal experts, have added to the uncertainty.
The NCEQE says Georgia meets all the NMC's requirements for foreign medical graduates. However, it also states: โUnder the Law of Georgia on Medical Practice, graduates of the Medical Doctor (MD) programme are entitled, irrespective of their citizenship, to be employed as junior doctors without taking additional examinations. A person appointed to this position performs a physician's duties under the direction and responsibility of a person authorised to engage in independent medical practice.โ
Legal experts have questioned the NCEQE's interpretation, alleging that its clarification could mislead Indian students and serve the interests of Georgian universities.
The NMC regulations require candidates to obtain an independent licence to practise medicine in the country where they received their medical degree before they can take the FMGE in India.
โHowever, the FAQ says that medical graduates can work as junior doctors, but not independently. They must work under the direction and responsibility of a person authorised to engage in independent medical practice. The NCEQE's claim that Georgia fulfils the NMC's conditions could mislead Indian students and benefit Georgian medical colleges,โ Ajay Kumar Singh, Advocate-on-Record at the Supreme Court, told PTI.
Lawyers have urged the Union health ministry and the NMC to publish a list of countries or foreign universities that meet the FMGE eligibility requirements. They said this would protect thousands of students planning to pursue MBBS degrees abroad from potential manipulation, fraud, distress and loss of career opportunities.
The differing NMC responses and Georgia's position have left aspiring doctors uncertain about whether medical degrees earned there will qualify them to take the FMGE and practise medicine independently in India.
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