China holds hope for medical students

Being a doctor is considered to be one of the best career options by Indian students, not only because of the reputation and respect that comes with the job but also because of the high salaries that doctors command in India. Owing to this, the competition for a seat in a quality medical college in India is very intense and only the best are able to find admission to the top medical colleges in India.

Another hurdle that medical aspirants face is the ridiculously high course fees asked for medical programmes in India, which many aspirants just are not able to afford from their pockets. The most obvious solution that comes to a candidate’s mind is getting a good rank in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the common national-level examination for entrance to medical, paramedical and AYUSH courses in India, and get a seat in a government medical college in India, where the course fee is comparatively much lower as compared to a quality medical college.

As a result many students prefer to scout foreign universities for medical education. And one of the best options for a medical aspirant who is looking to study abroad is China.

Chinese universities offer plenty of advantages over medical universities in India as well as in many other countries popular for medical education. These are:

• Lower course fee as compared to their counterparts in the UK and the US.
• The medical courses offered by Chinese universities are in the English-medium and do not require a knowledge of Mandarin or Cantonese. (However, it is important to remember that a basic knowledge of the language is required for living as well as studying in the country as English is not a widely-spoken language in China.)
• Medical courses offered by Chinese universities are recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI), which allows Indian medical aspirants to start their practice back in India after completing their education in a Chinese medical university.
• Lastly, there is no need to sit for the NEET exam for admission to medical courses in Chinese universities, which significantly reduces the stress and preparation required for the whole process.

The popularity of Chinese universities is also illustrated by the fact that out of the 3,300 international seats in the 45 MCI-recognised universities and colleges in China, more than 50 per cent seats are taken up by Indian students. However surprising this figure for the academic year 2019-20 may sound, it still falls short of the 70%-80% seats in the 214 Chinese universities being taken up by Indian students along in 2017-18.

Medical education in China

The infrastructure and facilities that are available to a student pursuing MBBS in a Chinese medical university are considered to be much better than those in medical universities other foreign countries.

The Chinese Ministry of Education awards A, B, and C grades to medical universities in China. These grades are based on a multitude of parameters, which include student-teacher ratio, quality of education, faculty as well as the quality of infrastructure available in the university.

Advantages

• The MCI-recognised universities in China are funded by the Chinese government, which brings down the MBBS tuition fee to around Rs 3,00,000.
• This is much lower as compared to the average tuition fee of MBBS/BDS courses in Indian colleges — Rs 50,000 to Rs 12 lakh — and balances the increased costs that come with migrating and living in a foreign country.
• The cost of living in China is not very high and a comfortable stay in China adds just Rs 65,000 – Rs 70,000 to the total expenditure.
• Since the medical degrees awarded by the Chinese medical universities under the direct supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Education, graduates holding these degrees are eligible to sit for the exams required to become a licensed medical practitioner in any country.
• The application and admission process to Chinese universities is simple and easy.
• n The safety and security of international students is taken very seriously by the Chinese government and law enforcement agencies.

When it comes to the top-rated medical education institutions in China, some of the names that stand out are those of Jiangsu University, Chinese Medical University (PRC), Jilin University Medical School and some other popular medical universities include Guangzhou, Hebei, Harbin and Dalian.

Global ranking of leading medical universities in China

S No                University Name                            World Rank

1                      Fudan University, Shanghai              170

2                      X’ian Jiatong University, X’ian           265

3                      Sichuan University, Chengdu            297

4                      Tongji University, Shanghai               312

5                      Jilin University, Changchun               334

6                      Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing          577

7                      Southern Medical University, Guangzhou   626

8                      Southwest Medical University, Luzhou       657

9                       Jinan University, Guangzhou           691

10                     Harbin Medical University, Harbin    763

— Ruchir Arora, CEO and co-founder, CollegeDekho