The latest regulations laid down by MCI for NEET-2018 prescribes that “The Indian Citizens / Overseas Citizen of India intending to obtain a primary medical qualification from any medical institution outside India, on or after May 2018, shall have to mandatorily qualify the NEET for admission to MBBS course abroad.”
It further states that, “The decision will be implemented prospectively, i.e. from May-2018. Thus, students who have already taken admission under current regulations to pursue a primary medical course by taking Eligibility Certificate from MCI are exempted from qualifying NEET.”
Now, 4000 Indian students were admitted to the Philippines in the year 2017. Since Philippines follows the medical education of the US, it requires from every student to at least complete one year of BS Degree, i.e. Bachelor of Science which serves as the Pre-medical degree before they can apply for MD (which is equivalent to Indian MBBS).
The students who were admitted to BS degree last year are currently studying in their respective colleges and are yet to complete the BS course.
They gave NEET last year but due to:
1. Bare minimum seats in government colleges.
2. The monopoly of the rich in private colleges.
3. Nationwide scams in NEET admissions and failure of revoking of licensure to many colleges by MCI,
They were forced to leave the country and study abroad.
Now since their BS degree will finish only after May 2018 and their will only start much later in the year, they are stuck in a miserable predicament of having to appear for NEET-18.
The most unfortunate thing being, only students studying in the Philippines are affected and other students in China/Russia/Georgia/Kyrgyzstan are impervious to this law since they do not have to do BS first.
The plight of 4000 Indian students pursuing medicine in the Philippines include:
1. Having to prepare the humongous syllabus of NEET in a matter of two months.
2. Having to book urgent tickets to India causing heavy financial losses.
3. Having to qualify NEET and a clearance test before they could work in India as a medical practitioner.
4. The mental and the physical pressure regarding sudden change of rules and constant fear of wasting one year of their youth.
5. No holidays being given by the respective colleges in the Phillipines to either prepare for NEET.
6. Having to balance the BS studies with NEET preparation.
Keeping all the above points in mind, the concerned authority is humbly requested to kindly intervene and help us rescue the thousands of Indian medical students suffering the atrocity brought about by the poorly thought rule introduced in NEET 2018.