China has become a new destination of choice for India's
aspiring doctors.
The number of Indian medical students in colleges and
universities in China has risen sharply in recent years, according
to Jasminder Kasturia, first secretary of the Indian Embassy to
China.
"There are more than 6,000 Indian students studying in China
now, mainly for medical science," Kasturia said.
More than 400 Indian students are currently studying for a
bachelor's degree of medicine at Tianjin Medical University (TMU)
and the number of applicants from India far exceeds the available
places at the university, said Professor Guo Fenglin, director of
the university's International Exchange Department.
The average tuition for a Chinese medical university is between
$2,000 and $3000 a year, plus another $1,000 to cover board and
lodging, which is only one fourth of that in India. "This is much
more affordable, in India, all the places are taken up even before
the exams, so even though we study hard we can't get a place over
there," said Manpreet Kaur, a second-year medical student at
TMU.
The attraction is not just lower fees but simple admission
procedures. Students who score marks of 70 per cent and above in
the Indian intermediate exam, similar to the college entrance exam
in China, are being admitted to Chinese universities.
The Chinese government has opened its medical education to the
world and made it easier for budding Indian doctors to secure
visas.
"Since 2004 more than 20 Chinese universities have begun to
aggressively recruit students from India, so that for hundreds of
aspiring Indian doctors unable to either find or afford a place at
medical colleges back home, China has become the Mecca," the Indian
national newspaper The Hindu said in a recent report.
Vishnu Prakash, consul general of India in Shanghai, thinks
"this is a win-win situation for all." "I encourage the exchanges
between India and China, especially the exchange of human
resources, and I hope that each of the Indians away from home can
serve as a cultural emissary for Indian culture," Prakash was
quoted as saying by Guangzhou Daily.
Whether the medical education provided by China to Indian
students is successful or not depends on how many Indian graduates
ultimately pass the India Medical Council test.
"If the pass rate is more than 60 percent, then our education is
successful," said Miao Jingcheng, deputy dean of the School of
Medicine under the Suzhou University in East China's Jiangsu
Province.
"Our school has high level scientific research and teaching
ability which can meet the education needs of Indian students,"
Miao said confidently.
(China Daily January 15, 2008)
