A plea was filed in Delhi High Court on Tuesday seeking postponement of Foreign Medical Graduate examination (FMGE) which is scheduled in mid-June. The matter is likely to be heard on Wednesday.
The plea, filed by the Association of MD Physicians, prayed that the notification released by National Board of Examinations (NBE) specifying the schedule of the screening exam be set aside. It has also sought direction to NBE to conduct the said exam at a time conducive for such examination, but no earlier than six weeks from the date when the exam was originally scheduled.
Dr. Rajesh Rajan, president of the association, said 99% of the students have not been vaccinated while many others have elderly and COVID-19 patients at their homes. He favoured conduction of the exam only in August when the situation improves.
"Most of our states are going through a lockdown phase. So it is difficult to travel to reach exam centres. 99% of the students are not vaccinated and many have elderly and COVID patients at home. Majority of the students were in metro cities for coaching but due to lockdown most of them left the metros and returned to their hometown but FMGE exam centre was booked before the surge in cases which is metro based centers. Third wave of COVID 19 delta variant has already been reported in many cities, even vaccinated young citizens are equally vulnerable to it and hence it will be a wise decision to postpone the exam. It will be safe to conduct exam during August 2021 like last year and by then the number of COVID19 cases will drop and majority will get vaccinated atleast first dose," Dr. Rajan opined.
Citing the prevailing COVID-19 situation, foreign medical graduates are also looking for a one-time exemption, that could pave way for their induction into the healthcare workforce in order to serve the nation in the hour of crisis. Days ago, a similar plea was made before the country's top court.
However, the Supreme Court indicated that it was not inclined to grant exemption from taking FMG exam. The observation came on a plea filed by three associations of foreign medical graduates seeking a direction mandating the induction of foreign medical graduates in the healthcare workforce of the country.
Meanwhile, a division bench of Justice Nageswara Rao and Justice Aniruddha Bose issued a notice returnable in two weeks, after hearing submissions of Senior Counsel Kapil Sabil, who appeared for the petitioners.
Dr. Ashish Mahendra, a member of the Dental Council of India, said employing foreign medical graduates at a juncture when the country is facing a dearth of doctors and staff would be of good help to the fraternity.
"Foreign medical graduates could be the answer to this shortage of doctors. Our demand is that the FMG qualifying scores be reduced so that more meritorious students can clear the exam. FMGs already have the training and experience of handling patients. Infact, they can also help manage patients in rural areas and they are also ready to work on a non-payment basis. Their commitment towards the country is unshakeable. Our suggestion is the recruit FMGs for Covid duty on a ad hoc basis, only meritorious students should be included and they could be posted in rural areas and permanent registration to be awarded for for them after completion of their one-year duty," Dr. Mahendra said.
The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has scheduled the exam for Indian and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) on June 18. The Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) is a licensing examination, required to be cleared by all those Indian citizens/OCIs who have completed their primary medical qualification from an institution outside India but wishes to practice in India.
READ MORE: Cancel FMGE exams, allow us to serve in fight against COVID-19, foreign medical graduates say
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