Minister: Nearly 10,000 Indians Are Seeking Higher Education In China

The Rajya Sabha was advised by the Ministry of external affairs that no precise information regarding Indian students studying abroad is available. But according to the minister, 10,000 students in China are already seeking higher education. In a written response, the ministry stated, "Specific information about the Indian students is unavailable, as students do not register themselves with Indian Missions, despite Missions and Posts' constant efforts." According to publicly available official data, during the COVID-19 outbreak, close to 14,000 students travelled from China back to India.

The external affairs ministry added that, among other factors, COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine crisis forced Indian students who were in the last year of their MBBS programme to leave their foreign medical college. In order to help these students, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has created a programme that allows them to take the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) as long as they receive their certificate of course completion and degree from their respective institute on or before June 30, 2022.