The validity of medical degrees of the Indian students pursuing their medicine courses in the Philippines has been in question ever since the National Medical Commission (NMC) released the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate (FMGL) Regulations 2021.
As per the regulations, the medical degree acquired in the Philippines has become invalid to practise in India. This especially poses risk of employability for students who were already studying in the country before the guidelines were released by the apex body for medical education in India.
Several medical students and parents have protested against these guidelines and have urged the NMC for an exemption from the November 2021 gazette as a one time measure.
FMGL Regulations 2021
In an official gazette released on November 18, 2021, the NMC laid out criteria for eligibility of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) for a licence or permanent registration to practise in India.
The guidelines made it mandatory for any candidate looking to practise medicine in India, to have undergone a course of theory, practical and clinical training equivalent to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in India.
The regulations also add that the FMG should have undergone a course leading to a foreign medical degree with a minimum duration of fifty-four months as well as an internship for a minimum duration of twelve months in the same foreign medical institution.
Issue with Philippines degree
The medical programme in the Philippines consists of two parts — Bachelor of Science (BS) which is equivalent to a pre-medical course in the USA and Doctor of Medicine (MD), equivalent to MBBS. The course duration is six years including two years of a pre-medical curriculum.
However, the NMC has refused to recognise the BS course for the required minimum duration of 54 months in order to practise in India. The NMC clarified that this is because the pattern of the BS course which is taught prior to the MD course is in line with the module of Class X and Class XII in India and hence, could not be considered a part of the medical degree programme.
This has left the students currently pursuing medical education in the Philippines in uncertainty about their future as they could not be treated as eligible to practise medicine in India.
Samunder Singh Rajpurohit, who took admission into a medical college in the Philippines in 2020, explained his concerns.
“NMC has not given any concrete reply on our issue. This is unfair to the students who took admission in 2020, before the regulations were released. A medical degree from the Philippines is recognised by WHO (World Health Organization). We will be eligible to practise in the USA, UK and all over the world but cannot practise in our own country. Most FMGs want to come back to India and practise medicine but because of these new regulations, that door has been closed for us,” explained Samunder.
The student expressed that since the regulations were introduced in the middle of their degree, the 2020 batch of Philippines medical students must be provided with an exemption or special dispensation from the regulations.
Parents of medical students pursuing their degrees in the Philippines have held protests and sent representations to the NMC seeking these relaxation measures. However, no clarification has been issued by the NMC so far.
Rawal Singh Rajpurohit, another student of Gullas College of Medicine, Cebu, Philippines, said “We started our MD course in 2022, two years after taking admission into a medical college in the Philippines. Now, it is being said that our degree will be invalid as NMC doesn't recognise BS courses. We have mailed NMC and have taken the issue up on social media as well but NMC has not responded to any of our pleas.”
