The extremely low pass percentage in the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) in recent years has left students from Kerala increasingly cautious about choosing the right university for medical education abroad.
“Aspirants check the pass percentage of students from each university in the previous years in FMGE before selecting their destinations. The international ranking of the universities also matters,” said an educational consultant with a major nationalised bank who processed over 1,000 applications from students seeking medical education abroad from the State in 2024.
While Russia and Ukraine used to be among the most preferred destinations until a few years ago, the war situation involving these countries has had an impact. Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have emerged as the new favourites among students from Kerala, while there are takers for countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia too.
FMGE is a mandatory screening test for MBBS graduates from foreign countries, except for those from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The results of the FMGE June 2025 cycle, released recently by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), showed a pass percentage of 18.61. While 36,034 foreign medical graduates (FMGs) appeared for the exam held on July 26, 2025, only 6,707 passed. However, the low pass percentage does not shock many as it has been similar or only slightly higher ever since FMGE was introduced 23 years ago.
The December 2024 cycle of FMGE recorded 29.62% pass, while only 21.6% cleared in the June 2024 cycle. Similar were the results for the June 2023 (13%) and the December 2023 (20%) cycles.
There are multiple reasons for students choosing foreign universities for medical education. For the 12.36 lakh students who cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in 2025, there are only 1.18 lakh MBBS seats available in the country, while all the other courses together have less than one lakh seats. The cost of medical education in India is another factor. While five years of MBBS education in India costs between ₹2 lakh to ₹1.4 crore, depending upon the university, the same would cost less than ₹70 lakh in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia.
While FMGE is challenging, NEET exams are considered easier and are a prerequisite for doing medical graduation abroad. However, many students have express concerns over the transparency of the FMGE results. A candidate must score 150 out of 300 to pass. “Answer keys are not provided, and students cannot apply for revaluation. We only receive a disclosure form upon entering the exam hall,” said Ajay Madhu, another FMG from Russia, who failed for the sixth time.
Akshaya Krishna, who cleared FMGE in his first attempt post MBBS from Russia, believes the NEET-PG is easier than FMGE. “I am certain that not many medical graduates who studied in India could clear an examination of FMGE’s difficulty level,” he remarked. “The poor performance of FMGE candidates does not reflect the quality of medical education abroad but rather the severity of the test that FMGs undergo in India,“ he pointed out.
Meanwhile, some foreign medical graduates, weary of repeatedly attempting FMGE, are choosing to pursue licensure in other countries where they have a better chance of passing. “I’m trying to clear the test by the Australian Medical Council while still attempting FMGE,” said Aman Subaida, who graduated from a Philippine medical school in 2024. “Due to the high cost, there is less competition there, unlike in the UK, where the field is nearly saturated,“ he added. Many of Aman’s friends have opted to seek licences in New Zealand, UK, and other European nations where language barrier is minimal.
Published – August 17, 2025 09:17 pm IST
