The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict has once again revealed a little-known fact to many Indians: over 1,500 Indian students, mostly pursuing medical education, are currently in Iran. They are spread across multiple cities, not just in Tehran. The Indian government has assured their safety, pledging to move them to safer zones and, eventually, evacuate them via neighbouring countries. This situation is eerily reminiscent of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. That war brought home the reality that thousands of Indian students were studying medicine in Ukraine. The Indian government responded commendably with Operation Ganga, airlifting students to safety. But while the evacuations may have been successful, we have failed to address the root cause that continues to drive Indian students abroad for medical education.
Why, in a country globally respected for its medical expertise and institutions, where medical tourism is on the rise, do so many students look elsewhere to study medicine? The reasons are structural and long-standing. Despite India having some of the best doctors and medical colleges in the world, institutions like AIIMS that produce top-class physicians, outdated policies and rigid regulations continue to throttle the growth of medical education. The National Medical Commission, earlier called the Medical Council of India, still follows archaic norms framed in the 1950s and 60s. These include rigid faculty-student ratios and infrastructure demands that deter expansion. To admit 100 students, a college must have a disproportionately high number of faculty, often up to 140. Infrastructure requirements are similarly excessive, with strict mandates on the number and type of machines, labs, and classroom configurations. Consequently, most colleges are allowed to admit no more than 150 students, regardless of their capacity.
These limitations, coupled with sky-high costs, make medical education in India inaccessible for many. With most new colleges being in the private sector, tuition fees often exceed Rs 1.5 lakh per month. A five-year MBBS degree costs over Rs 1 crore. In contrast, students can study abroad, in countries like China, Georgia, or Iran, for less than half that cost. Of course, many of these foreign institutions lack even basic facilities. Some in the Philippines operate from makeshift buildings, leading to India eventually derecognising their degrees. Yet, the economics still drive students there.
There is a simple, rational solution: liberalise medical education. Let colleges expand their intake, doubling or even tripling it, wherever infrastructure permits. This would not only reduce costs but also stem the outflow of students to substandard institutions abroad. Technology has changed the game. Online education, telemedicine, and AI-driven diagnostics have rendered many old norms obsolete. What is needed is bold, out-of-the-box thinking from policymakers to democratise medical education and harness India’s true potential. The next evacuation should not be of our students from a war zone but of our rules from the last century.
