According to data provided by the National Medical Commission (NMC) in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, as many as 1,166 medical students dropped out of their courses in the last five years.
The RTI was filed by health and RTI activist Dr Vivek Pandey, seeking the number of suicides among postgraduate medical students over the past five years as well as the number of students who left medical colleges during the time period.
The statistics show that 1,166 students dropped out of medical colleges between 2018 and 2023. Among them, 160 were undergraduate (UG) students, while 1,006 were postgraduate (PG) students. The highest number of dropouts was recorded in the "other branches" category (529), followed by MS General Surgery (114), Obstetrics and Gynaecology (103), and ENT (100).
The data shared by the NMC also revealed 119 reported suicides in the same period — 64 among undergraduate students and 55 among postgraduate (MS/MD) students.
The statistics, compiled from 512 medical colleges across India, underscore the immense academic pressure and mental health challenges faced by students pursuing medical
The data comes as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) is just around the corner, to be held on June 15, 2025.
Sharing the data to X, health activist Dr Vivek Pandey wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “With NEET trending, let’s face the harsh truth RTI filed by me reveals: 119 medicos (64 UG,55 PG) died by suicide in 2018-22. 1166 dropped out—160 UG, 1006 PG (MS tops at 114). This is a crisis. How long will we ignore the mental toll on our future doctors?”
