MBBS Abroad: Over 2,700 Indians graduated from foreign medical colleges with no proper website

Out of 470 foreign medical colleges from which Indian graduates appeared for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination(FMGE) 2022, 26 colleges do not seem to have proper, functional websites. Careers360 could not access websites of these colleges on popular search engines, and those which opened did not contain adequate information about their undergraduate medical course.

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A total of 2,741 Indian medical graduates from these 26 foreign medical institutes wrote the FMGE 2022, only 324 passed. Plus, for several universities which did have websites, the contact information available did not include official email addresses, nor websites with registered country code extensions or extensions for academic institutions.

Five of these 26 had over 300 Indian graduates taking the FMGE 2022 each but recorded a pass percentage below 20 per cent.

FMGE: High Student Participation, Lower Pass Percentage

Medical students graduating from a foreign institute must qualify the FMGE to practise medicine in India. Every year, the pass percentage for FMGE is slipping. Only 23 per cent of the 54,924 Indian medical graduates appearing for FMGE 2022 qualified the exam. In 2023, 37,827 students wrote the FMGE (December session); only 7,781 cleared it.

In this article, Careers360 has analysed the data of FMGE 2022 as information on FMGE 2023 is not yet available.

MBBS Abroad: Medical Colleges in China

An official and fully-functional website provides authentic information about admission procedures, curriculum, faculty, facilities, and other essential details students. The National Medical Council (NMC) has advised Indians studying medicine abroad to confirm the details such as course fees, course duration etc. directly from the concerned foreign medical institute before taking admission.

China has the maximum number of colleges (eight) with no or poorly-constructed websites. As many as 1,494 Indian medical graduates appeared for FMGE 2022 from these foreign medical institutes, but just 144 students cleared it.

Moreover, there are some foreign medical institute websites that are not accessible due to language constraints. In many countries, regulatory and accreditation bodies may not provide information in English. This makes it challenging for English-speaking users to locate relevant information.

MBBS Abroad: No Official Website

There are 16 foreign medical colleges on the list where an official website could not be found at all. Located across eight countries, the colleges had 1,812 Indian medical graduates appearing for FMGE 2022. Only 224 cleared the exam. China has the highest number of such colleges.

MBBS Abroad: Colleges Without An Official Website

In addition to the above, there is the case of the University Of Seychelles American Institute Of Medicine (USAIM). In 2016, The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) barred 21 Indian graduates from registration. The MMC said that the undergraduate programme at the institute was “dubious”. There were reports claiming that USAIM charged exorbitant fees from Indian students and did not provide practical training which is a prerequisite to appear for FMGE. Despite this, two Indian graduates appeared for FMGE 2022 from this institute but neither cleared.

Similarly, the Embassy of India in Armenia has advised Indian students to take precautions before taking admission to St. Tereza Medical University, Armenia. In 2021, they issued a notification after receiving multiple complaints from the existing students regarding "poor facilities, unqualified faculty” at the institute.

MBBS Abroad: Non-functional Website

There are nine foreign medical colleges for which Careers360 could not find a fully-functional website. These are located across six countries. The websites of these colleges do not provide much information about the medical undergraduate course.

On trying to access the websites of these colleges, it was found that either it was a one-page website (as in a landing page) or tabs were not opening. Soochow University Medical College in China, for instance, has a one-page website. China has four while Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have one such institute each.

MBBS Abroad: Colleges Without A Functional Website

As many as 927 Indian medical graduates wrote the FMGE 2022 from these colleges; only 100 cleared it.

MBBS Abroad: Contact details

With another section of colleges, a closer look at the contact information is necessary even if they appear to have functioning websites. Careers360 found 13 colleges – 10 in Bangladesh, two in Ukraine, and one in Mauritius – that had Gmail or Yahoo email addresses as their main point of contact. One foreign medical college each in Guyana and the Philippines did not have any contact information at all – no emails, no contact numbers – other than a postal address.

In the case of Orenburg State Medical University, Russia, the website has an official email id, but mentions a contact number with an India code. The number mentioned on the site directs you to a Noida-based study abroad consultant or middleman.