90 Kerala medical students from Chinese universities seek NMC's permission

Kochi: Around 90 medical students from Kerala who were studying medicine in various Chinese universities are seeking permission from National Medical Council to avail practical training in India. They had to return to India during the Covid pandemic and needed practical sessions to validate their online classes.

The Parent Association of Foreign Medical Students had approached the Kerala High Court seeking intervention. The bench directed the MNC to file an affidavit and posted the case on August 29.

The order said: "Learned standing counsel for the National Medical Commission shall cause an affidavit to be filed by a responsible officer regarding the Commission's stand as to whether petitioners can be permitted to attend classes in the Medical Colleges as a temporary measure till they are able to return to China for attending regular classes in the respective institutions."

Students argued that they were pursuing their medical degrees in top universities in China. Their colleges had facilities at par with Indian medical colleges which are approved by NMC. They missed out on clinical training due to the changes implemented during the pandemic.

Four days ago, NMC in accordance with the Supreme Court's order, permitted Indian students who were in the last year of their undergraduate medical courses in Ukraine and China to appear in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination.

The NMC said it is a one-time measure and shall not be treated as a precedent in the future. Around 23,000 Indian students returned from various Chinese educational institutes during the pandemic. The Ukraine war caused around 18,000 medical students to leave their studies.

Students who were in other years of their medical degree are also demanding that the union government accommodate them in Indian medical colleges.