Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, China suspended visas for overseas students, impacting approximately 23,000 Indian students who enrolled at institutions in the country before the Covid-19 outbreak. The majority of those in this group are medical students.
The departure of these students resulted in India’s first Covid-19 case: a medical student enrolling at an institution in Wuhan.
Since 2020, virtual classes have kept the students updated about their study materials; however, these students had had no professional experience, which is considered essential in medical school.
Students have also been dissatisfied with another issue as well. It is challenging to study online. Maybe there is a network issue, occasionally students are unable to comprehend the ideas in the online class, and if you have a question during the course, your question might be answered the next day.”
Another issue is that many students are also frustrated with losing out on the university experience. So many students had imagined their lives when they went to a university, but everything has altered so radically for them.
While the Chinese government previously stated that they are making an organized effort to repatriate international students, it did not say when they are expected to return to the country.
As per diplomatic sources, India has also pushed China to enable students to continue their education in person. Furthermore, India’s medical authority, the National Medical Council (NMC), has warned students not to seek admission to Chinese institutions due to visa suspension. However, for the medical students who are currently enrolled in colleges there, two years of online education have created significant hurdles for their future careers.
The Financial Worry
Most medical schools in China demand a course price of Rs 3 lakh-4 lakh each year. Hostel costs an extra Rs 50,000 per year (roughly). However, several colleges waive this due to virtual education.
One factor that makes China a top stop for Indian students is the fees, which are equal to the cost of studying medicine in India. The other argument is that there are fewer seats available at institutions in the United States; entrance is seen to be more straightforward in China.
The majority of the university students come from middle to upper-class households. What worries them is not the amount of money they have spent on getting into a Chinese institution as it is the fact that they are missing out on critical educational experiences, such as practical classes and internships as a result of online study. This is a more pressing worry for people in their last year of MBBS.
“Seeking an MBBS from China was not particularly expensive,” said Kirti Pathak, a native of Jind, Haryana. What is troubling is that, despite having completed my MBBS, I have very little practical expertise and no chance to practice as a doctor.” Pathak spent Rs 3.5 lakh per year to study at Kunming Medical University in Yunnan.
Having Difficulties Obtaining Internships
The fifth-year student from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, will return to the Hubei University of Medicine in Shiyan in 2020.
Since he is in the final year of his medical studies and cannot return to China, he has been searching for internships in India. Nevertheless, no one is willing to provide him with practical experience because of his lack of experience.
The reality that Nadir could not pass the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE), which is required for individuals chasing medicine in Russia, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, is also acting against him.
“By the third year, medical students are being sent to hospitals to view patients, assess their signs, and grasp their illness.” For instance, we learned about asthma theory, but I haven’t seen or met anyone diagnosed with asthma and examined their symptoms. If I visit an asthmatic patient, I may not be aware of the severity of their disease. “This is what we all are saying about the lack of practical experience,” Nadir said.
Nadir and other students in his group said they attempted to approach the state administration and local officials to enroll in practicals at local medical institutions but were denied. “We asked our institution if we could register in practical lessons at nearby colleges or hospitals, but our university declined to assist us to be placed for practical sessions here and told us we should deal with the problem on our own,” the student explained.
He noted that his fear is echoed by perhaps 100 of his fellow peers from other universities. While some of them were able to gain unofficial training at nearby clinics, the experience did not help them land a formal internship, according to the students.
Pathak, as previously said, has been seeking internship programs in India for the last year but seems unable to get one owing to a lack of practical experience and her inability to qualify for the FMGE.
“In China, I would have been granted an internship as soon as I passed my FMGE, but in India, even to get an internship, I need to pass my FMGE. Practical knowledge, however, is essential even for passing the FMGE, as it is a requirement for practicing medicine,” Pathak explained.
The FMGE is passed by less than 20% of those who take it.
Warning to Students
Students should be cautious.
Meanwhile, the National Medical Council (NMC) stated in a warning that “any prospective student should be informed that China has implemented tight travel bans in the aftermath of Covid-19 and suspended all visas from November 2020.”
The alert came after specific Chinese colleges invited new applicants for MBBS programs.
“These restrictions have caused a considerable number of overseas students including Indians to be prevented from completing their studies in China.” “There has been no easing of the limits thus far,” the notification continued.
“According to the existing standards, the National Medical Commission does not accept medical courses completed solely online,” the notification stated.
As a result, the committee advised applicants to proceed with care while applying to medical schools in China or elsewhere. The NMC notification stated that students should use caution when choosing a medical school.
