The Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) December 2024 is scheduled for January 12, 2025. Almost two months before the exam, the aspirants express uncertainty about the number of exam centres or the lack thereof.
FMGE is compulsory for Indian citizens who travel abroad to pursue MBBS and return to their homeland for practice. Registration for the medical exam began on October 28 and will end on November 18, 2024. During the time of registration, the candidates need to opt for four exam centres and submit the form. Following this, they will be allotted centres based on the availability of seats at the centre.
There is an aspirant who is still uncertain about the city she wants to choose for the exam. Speaking to EdexLive, a Haryana FMG, on condition of anonymity, says, "Delhi is my only option as Haryana has no exam centre."
"I'm stalling my registration process solely because of this reason, that there are not enough exam centres in my vicinity," she said, alleging, "FMGs are already mistreated. Challenges including travel, financial strain, stress, and anxiety, are further drawbacks."
The FMGs have always raised objections to being mistreated. Moreover, they are constantly compared with Indian Medical Graduates (IMG). Lack of internship seats in their states and non-payment of stipends have been recurring issues that have led to FMGs staging protests and demonstrations multiple times in recent years. States, namely, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir, have been proactively advocating for their cause.
Muddled with the same issue of lack of exam centre issue, another candidate, Arnav Sahay, from Ranchi, Jharkhand, says, "Left with no choice, I'll have to select centres in other states, such as Delhi, Meerut, Kolkata, and Patna, because I believe these are relatively accessible from Ranchi."
"With the stress we already undergo, the additional cost of travelling to other states is on us," he adds, alleging, "We learn about the final exam centres only a few days before the exam." Making last-minute travel arrangements usually proves to be rather expensive. Add to that the accommodation expenses. Also, last-minute cancellations of flights or trains are difficult to handle.
How many centres for FMGE in India?
According to the information bulletin released by the National Board of Education in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) for the FMGE in December 2024, there are 60 centres. But 11 states and six union territories (UTs) have none.
States with no exam centres are Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
UTs with no exam centres are Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Puducherry.
Not just the December session
The concern about the lack of exam centres is not confined to the December 2024 session alone. Candidates for July 2024 faced challenges due to the change in the process of allotment centres. The process change includes random allocation of the centre instead of following a preferential order.
Dr Ankit Aman from Delhi recalls that despite being residents of the national capital, he and his acquaintances had to travel to other states to take the exam. "Even though Delhi was my first preference, I got Mumbai as my exam city which was my last preference," Aman added.
One FMG from Goa had to travel to Pune to take his exam. Recollecting the trouble he went through, on the condition of anonymity, he says, "It was inconvenient since we had to travel to another state, reserve lodging, and then, arrange our transportation to the centre. Additionally, since the test was in the morning, finding rickshaws and cabs in an unknown state aggravated the stress."
Allotment of exam cities via the 'shuffle' process was implemented for the June 2024 session and the exam was held in July.
The information bulletin regarding the July 2024 examination clearly states, "At the time of online submission of application form, the candidate will be required to indicate his/her choices of four different test cities amongst the test cities offered where he/she would like to appear in FMGE. The candidate shall be allocated the test centre for FMGE in any one of these four test cities chosen by him/her. No preference shall be asked to be indicated amongst these four choices...Indicating a test city choice does not guarantee allocation of a test centre in one of these test cities. In an event of unavailability of a testing seat in any of the four choices of the candidate, NBEMS may allocate a test centre anywhere in the country."
Tip of the iceberg
Besides the lack of centres in a few states, the issue of faraway exam centres has been prevalent in the past few sessions too.
Dr Shubham Anand, Chairman of the Global Association of Indian Medical Students (GAIMS), brings to light these perspectives:
1. Exam cities are allotted based on the percentage of FMGs in the respective state
2. FMGs from neighbouring states of Delhi, due to lack of exam centres, prefer the national capital
3. To avoid paper leaks like in NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduate), which was marred with allegations, NBE is not in favour of conducting FMGE in numerous centres
Explaining these aspects further, Anand says, "FMGs hailing from neighbouring states of Delhi, where there are no exam centres, usually reside in Delhi. Hence, they would rather take their exam in Delhi." Although Haryana has several FMGs, they mostly prefer Delhi as their centre. Perhaps because they are residing in Delhi for the purpose of preparation, he observes.
Additionally, he says that to overcome irregularities such as paper leaks, the board is not keen on conducting FMGE in numerous centres.
Notably, speculations were rife that due to misconduct during FMGE at a few exam centres, it is not being held there again, reducing the number of centres.
Putting the spotlight on the eleventh-hour rushes, GAIMS International Relations Council President Dr Abhishek Kashyap says, "States like Rajasthan have very few centres, and a few states — such as Jharkhand, Goa, and Himachal Pradesh — have no centres at all. This forces students to travel even further, adding substantially to their expenses for travel and accommodation, especially when trying to avoid last-minute rushes."
"Many FMGs study abroad because they cannot afford private colleges in India. They tend to opt for countries where the cost of education is affordable hence, these additional exam expenses are a substantial burden that adds financial stress and travel difficulties to the exam anxiety they already go through," he articulates. Further, he pinpoints that this is especially challenging now, as the FMG exam has become more competitive, with high scores essential for securing an internship. What's more? The limited number of seats for internships in states like Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Goa exacerbate the situation.
Bringing to light other key issues, Rachita Kurmi, a medical student from Mumbai who is studying in China, alleged, "For the January 2023 exam, students recieved their admit cards a day before the exam. In addition, many students did not receive their admit cards because of 'incomplete documents', which the website failed to notify them beforehand."
"The students learnt about this one day before the exam and were unable to appear for it. Usually, the centres assigned are far away, there are not enough centres in every state and the exam itself has already been delayed for so long. There isn't a more effective approach and this is trying the pupils' patience and tormenting them for a while now," she added.
Predominantly, the matter brings us to one question: Why don't all states and UTs have FMGE exam centres?
To know NBE's response, read
