"We are doctors! We are waiting for what we deserve!": West Bengal FMGs face internship crisis

The story of FMGs’ struggles all over the country feels like a boundless abyss, growing only wider as you go further.

Just recently, FMGs in Bihar were forced to protest severely before finally securing their internships.

In Punjab, FMGs still remain on the streets, seeking relief from their appallingly low stipends and disproportionately high fees. 

While the FMGs of Delhi are in utter confusion and have no clear authority to question, Jharkhand FMGs continue to work without any stipend at all.

The situation in West Bengal is even more dire.

Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in West Bengal watch their white coats gather dust as they wait, longing for an opportunity to step into the wards. 

Yet, the doors to their internship remain firmly shut.

The West Bengal Medical Council (WBME) has not announced the internship list for FMGs, who are waiting since July 2024. 

"Every student has spent at least five years abroad for the MBBS degree. After arriving in India, we spent approximately five to six months preparing; our exams were held in January. After that, till date, we haven't received any notice," Dr Raunak* (name changed to protect privacy), one of the disappointed FMGs, expressed his angst.

"We have qualified the exam, which the Indian government is asking us to pass. We have passed, and we have been doing nothing for the past seven months," he grieved.

"Our seniors have been waiting nearly a year with no updates," he pointed out how excruciatingly long their wait period was.

Thirty-three students have been waiting since July 2024 as their internship opportunities were held back due to a shortage of seats. Then, they were joined by approximately 230 students in January 2025. 

"We protested in January and February and involved the media, but nothing worked. We visited Swasthya Bhawan recently, and the Assistant Director of Medical Education (ADM) said a notice would be released this month. However, they did not specify the date or details about seat availability," Shayeque Reza remarked.

Shayeque, along with 32 others, has been waiting for his internship for nearly a year, and he is deeply disheartened. 

"We've tried reaching out to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and filed our concerns on the CM's grievance portal, but our appeals have gone unanswered," he said.

FMGs worry that this prolonged gap could ruin their eligibility for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2026, putting their careers at risk.

"We are doctors! We are waiting for something we deserve after we've passed the necessary exam. We are not doing anything illegal. We are asking for what we deserve!" claimed an aggrieved FMG. 

FMGs are urging the authorities to open all seats for this batch, as about 250 students are waiting.

They fear that releasing fewer seats will leave many students waiting again, just like last time.

Without urgent intervention to resolve internship allocation issues, the future of hundreds of qualified doctors remains in jeopardy, threatening both their careers and the nation's healthcare needs, they say.