The Rajya Sabha was advised by the ministry of external affairs that no precise information regarding Indian students studying abroad was available. But according to V Muraleedharan, Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, there are already 10,000 students in China seeking higher education. He gave this information to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Despite Missions and Posts persistent attempts, he continued, students do not register themselves with Indian Missions, so particular information regarding Indian students is not available.
Muraleedharan was responding to Tiruchi Siva’s question on whether or not the Indian government has kept a database of Indian students registered in foreign colleges and universities, as well as the total number of students enrolled in medical programs in China.
The minister also disclosed that, according to the data that were made accessible, nearly 14000 students had returned from China to India during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added, the Ministry and the Indian Embassy in Beijing had taken a multi-pronged approach to help Indian students return from China, which included, among other things, emergency evacuation from the worst-affected areas, the establishment of a 24X7 Control Room and special hotlines for students seeking assistance, and coordinating with the government agencies and universities of the People’s Republic of China for an early return of these students to pursue their remaining courses and minimize the curriculum loss.
Siva questioned the minister over the government’s plans for the welfare of Indian students studying at foreign institutions. Muraleedharan claimed that Indian students who were in their final year of their MBBS program and had to leave their foreign medical institute (due to COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, etc.) NMC had permitted them to take FMGE if they had been given a certificate from the appropriate institute attesting to their completion of the course or degree on or before June 30.
These foreign medical graduates are required to complete a two-year Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) after passing the FMG exam to make up for the clinical training they were unable to physically attend during their undergraduate medical education at the foreign institution and to make them familiar with Indian medical practice.
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