Will Indian students go to China again to do MBBS? Know why this discussion started

MBBS in China: The border dispute that has been going on in eastern Ladakh between India and China for many years has been resolved. Both the armies were face to face in Ladakh, but now both have decided to retreat from the tense areas. Improving relations between India and China can also be good news for Indian students. Experts say that China can again become popular for studies among Indian students. Especially when the rules for student visa are strict in countries like Canada, Australia, America.
China has long been a very popular study abroad destination among Indian students to pursue medical courses like MBBS. But in 2020, relations between the two countries deteriorated after the Covid pandemic and then the clash in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. After this, Indian students stopped going to China and started going to other countries for studies. However, after the border tension is over, it is now being discussed whether students will once again go to China for medical studies.

Why might Indians like China?

Speaking to The Economic Times, Rohin Kapoor, partner, management consulting at BDO India, said that political tension has affected China’s education sector. The students felt that they were not accepted in China. he/she says that after the tightening of visa rules in Australia and Canada, the options for Indian students to study abroad have reduced. Rohin said that these circumstances are in favor of China. Things can also change depending on who wins the elections in America.

Rohin Kapoor said, “Beijing’s perception may improve because India-China are moving towards better relations. But it is difficult to say how much change will happen. If relations between the two countries improve, then “We may see more Indian students planning to go to China in the next 6-8 months.”

Why do Indian students go to study in China?

Karan Gupta of Karan Gupta Consulting said that Chinese universities are known for their advanced infrastructure, affordable fees and specialized programs. Due to the uncertainties arising in Canada, Indian students are looking at countries like China as an option to study. It has been seen for a long time that due to cheap medical education in China, Indian middle class children have been going here to study. A large number of children from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have gone to China to study.

Nikhil Jain, founder of ForeignAdmits, said that students pursuing MBBS gave importance to China’s education quality and affordable fees. Which was an average of Rs 15-20 lakh. These fees are much lower than private medical colleges in India. he/she told that generally only those families whose income was between 5 to 12 lakhs used to send their children to study in China. In China, not only medical but also subjects like business and computer science are provided with high quality education.

How many Indian students are studying in China?

Before the Covid pandemic, more than 20 thousand Indians were studying in China. After the pandemic and the Galwan clash, the number of students kept decreasing. New admissions stopped completely between 2020 and 2021. Even in 2023, only about 8580 Indians were studying in China.