New Delhi: The central government has issued a detailed advisory for thousands of Indian students who are enrolled in medical institutions in China but are stuck at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese visa ban has affected over 23,000 Indian students enrolled in various Chinese universities.

“The Embassy of India in Beijing has been receiving several queries from Indian students and their parents regarding admission to the Undergraduate Clinical Medicine program in China,” the embassy said in a statement on September 8. China said in July that the country had made progress in facilitating the return of Indian students and was working closely with relevant departments to see that the first batch of Indian students return to China to study at the earliest.

The Embassy of India also shared a link to a study conducted by the National Board of Examinations, which revealed that out of 40,417 students who appeared for the FMG exam from 2015 to 2021, only 6387 cleared it.

The statement further added that “Studies show that out of 40,417 students who appeared for the FMG exam from 2015 to 2021, only 6387 cleared it. Here, the pass percentage of Indian students studying clinical medicine program in China in that period in these 45 universities was only 16 per cent.”

India issues advisory for students planning to study in China

Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/Lwz4239c86#India #China #Visaban #Student pic.twitter.com/r3ypQTbPMU

— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) September 11, 2022

Indian students taking medicine from Chinese universities are unable to return to China to attend classes due to the COVID-19-induced restrictions. Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting also stressed the need to expedite the process of Indian students returning to China to attend classes at the earliest. .

Jaishankar met Wang Yi on 25 March to facilitate the return of Indian students. The Indian Embassy in China said that earlier in April, the Chinese side had expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on need basis.