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CHENNAI: The delay in releasing National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) results and Covid-19 pandemic have limited the number of choices for students opting to study medicine in foreign universities, but many from Tamil Nadu have made light of the problems including travel restrictions and are still flying out to study medicine.
A Sophiya Punithan of Chennai joined All American Institute of Medical Sciences in Jamaica. “The total cost including food, accommodation and tuition fees is approximately ?49 lakh for five years. I am awaiting a visa to travel there this month,” she said, adding though she qualified in NEET she was not able to score high marks due to Covid-19.
Aakif Abdullah of Kayalpattinam in Tuticorin, who joined Tashkent Medical Academy in Uzbekistan and plans to travel before November 25, said he did not want to waste another year in NEET preparation.
Rajkumar of Puducherry, who has enrolled his son in National Pirogov Memorial Medical University at Vinnytsya in Ukraine, said, “We finalised the university even before the NEET results as the cut-off was very high last year.”
Universities in China and Russia used to attract a large number of students from the state. While medical universities in China are yet to admit foreign students, top universities in Russia have closed admissions. “Reputed universities like Kazan State Medical University closed admissions this year following the delay in releasing NEET results. Last year, we did admissions to 25 medical universities in Russia. This year, only four universities have kept admissions open,” said C Ravichandran, managing director of Study Abroad Educational Consultants.
D Subhas Chandra Bose, managing director of St Johns Educare India Private Limited said, interest among students to join medical universities abroad has increased compared to previous year. “Countries like Uzbekistan and Jamaica are giving visas for medical aspirants.”
R Sureshkumar, managing director of Chennai-based Truematics Overseas Education Consultancy, said the current batch had fewer options like Ukraine and Malaysia due to the delay in NEET results. “Students are not preferring universities which offer courses in online mode. Many have chosen different career options due to the pandemic.”