CHENNAI: The war and Covid-19 has kept Ukraine and China off-limits for foreign students, while making Russia and other central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as the likely destinations for medical aspirants from Tamil Nadu for 2022-23. Poland and Baltic countries like Lithuania and Latvia could also generate interest, education consultants said. Though the Caribbean Islands and Malaysia also offer safer options, but medical education is expensive.
More than one lakh students sit for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) every year in TN where there are around 10,000 seats in medical colleges and deemed universities. Before Covid-19, 7,000-8,000 students were flying abroad every year to finish a six-year medical degree at 30 lakh-45lakh. Most TN students prefer destinations where MBBS costs 30 lakh-35 lakh.
