MEA Vows to Protect Indian Students from Exploitation in Uzbekistan
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Tuesday responded to a question about the decline in enrolment of Indian students pursuing MBBS in Uzbekistan, said the government continued to engage with the Uzbek side on issues concerning Indian students.
The Centre said that it remains focused on ensuring that Indian students pursuing higher education in Uzbekistan, particularly medical studies, receive quality education and are not exploited by unscrupulous elements in India and Uzbekistan.
“We continue to engage with the Uzbek side as far as issues pertaining to Indian students are concerned. You would have seen some of the advisories that we have issued. The embassy in Tashkent has also issued advisories, as has the National Medical Commission, giving certain guidelines to students who wish to pursue education not just in Uzbekistan but in several other places. Please do have a look at the advisories that have been issued,” he said.
“I just want to say that the government remains focused on ensuring that Indian students who are headed to Uzbekistan to pursue education, including medical education, must receive quality education, quality medical education, such that they comply with the guidelines of the National Medical Commission, which is a body here in India,” Jaiswal said.
“It is also important to ensure that Indian students headed to Uzbekistan for medical studies or other studies are not exploited by unscrupulous elements, both here in India as also in Uzbekistan. And as I said, I urge you to look at the advisories that we’ve issued. You will get a clearer idea as to why things are happening the way they are happening,” he added.
In April, the National Medical Commission issued an advisory for Indian students seeking admission to undergraduate medical courses in Uzbekistan.
It said it had noticed that several Indian students continued to seek admission to private medical colleges abroad that did not comply with prescribed regulations. Such institutions often followed curricula, timelines and training standards that were not aligned with those mandated in India.
The commission cautioned students aspiring to pursue medical education abroad against enrolling in unauthorized foreign medical colleges and offshore programmes operating in violation of regulatory norms. It also advised them to exercise due diligence before seeking admission.
The NMC further stated that any deviation from prescribed requirements could result in disqualification from obtaining registration in India.
These requirements include the duration of the course, medium of instruction, syllabus and curriculum, clinical training, and internship or clerkship arrangements, media reported.
