Oct 10, 2021 2 min read

❄️ Freezethawed: The Newsletter #045 - The painful reality of medical education in India

Hello everyone!

If you haven’t been keeping up with the current scenario of medical education in India, this week’s newsletter will catch you up. About a month ago, the nationwide medical entrances examinations were (finally) conducted for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Here’s some statistics:

Post-graduate education

There are a total number of 24597 MD, 12798 MS, 2038 MCh, 2365 DM, 922 PG Diploma seats in the country. This takes the grand total to 42720 NEET PG/SS post-graduate seats of which 26711 are in the GMCs and 16009 are in private institutions.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) – Postgraduate was held at 679 centres in 270 cities of the country with 1.6 lakh candidates appearing for it. DNB CET 2021 - The National Board of Examination (NBE) grants admission to Diplomate of National Board - DNB CET post MBBS courses. The selection will be done on the basis of NEET PG scores, wherein, a total of 2256 DNB seats will be granted in 1038 DNB CET hospitals.

Under-graduate education

There are a total of 83075 NEET UG seats in the country. A total of 13.66 lakh candidates appeared in the exam in over 3800 centres across India.

Takeaways

Out of the total students who took the NEET UG exam this year, only 6% will get a MBBS seat. Finally out of the total students who took the NEET PG exam this year, only 27% will get a PG seat.

For every 100 students who dream of becoming a doctor, only six will. Also, only one in four students will be able to practice a speciality of their choice (or at all).

This is not even taking into consideration the vast number of “reserved” seats in the country, as well as the private institutions that charge exorbitantly for seats which is a reservation by itself.

There is much a slip between the cup and the lip and these are some very realistic statistics that I felt need to see the light of day. If these numbers appal you too, please share them with a family member or friend.

Last week I shared the guide I wish I had when I joined residency. You can read about it here: Dissecting Residency - A guide to thrive for first-year residents

This week I share my take on deciding on Ophthalmology is speciality during residency. You can read about it there: Deciding a residency in Ophthalmology: Here’s what you need to know

Until next time,

Anujeet.

Enjoyed the read?

Consider subscribing to my newsletter, ❄️ Freezethawed, to get a weekly update on thoughts pondered upon by me, insights I’ve been exposed to and may be some interesting facts I’ve encountered - delivered straight to your inbox. Click here: ❄️ Freezethawed: The Newsletter