Thrissur: Foreign medical graduates continue to perform poorly in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) that is required for them to work in India. In the examination held in December 2023, 38,535 people registered but just 37,149 appeared for the exam. Of this, only 7781 students passed the examination.

Results of 15 candidates were withheld. Out of the 24,250 who appeared for the exam last June, 2474 passed.

The only consolation as far as the December examination is concerned is that the results are slightly better than June. Medical graduates who completed their studies from foreign universities are allowed to attempt the exam four times. Graduates from the U.S, Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada do not need to pass this qualifying exam.

The average pass percentage of students who studied in Bangladesh from 2015-2020 in the FMGE exam is 33.03 percent. During the same period, the success rate of those that completed their studies in China was 15.26 percent.

Those who completed their studies from 99 institutions took the exam. Among these, there are institutions with a success rate ranging from 46 to zero percent. Candidates from 50 institutes from Bangladesh wrote the exam during this period. 

The National Medical Commission advises that when choosing a foreign medical study opportunity, students should check the official figures and not believe the words of intermediaries.