NBEMS firm on FMGE standards, open to addressing genuine FMG concerns

NBEMS states no compromise on competency for FMGs but will address concerns. An expert panel proposed holding the FMGE three times a year and other reforms but denied grace marks for the June 2026 exam, citing no evidence of unfairness.

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is willing to address the genuine concerns of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), but there can be no compromise on the minimum competency required to practice medicine in India, a senior NBEMS official has said.

Expert Committee Proposes Reforms Amid Agitation

The remarks come amid continuing agitation over the June 2026 Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), even as an expert committee constituted by the NBEMS has proposed a series of measures to make the examination more transparent and candidate-friendly.

The three-member panel, headed by Air Marshal (Dr.) Pawan Kapoor (Retd.), recommended examining the feasibility of holding the FMGE three times a year, reviewing the examination fee, improving examination-centre infrastructure, and allowing candidates access to their recorded responses, subject to technical and legal safeguards.

No Grace Marks for June Exam

The committee, however, did not recommend grace or compensatory marks for the June examination, finding no material evidence that the video-based questions or overall difficulty had affected the outcome.

Statistics Underline Competency Gap

The attempt-wise results provide significant context to the debate. In June 2026, 35.74% of first-time candidates cleared the FMGE, compared with 21.45% among second-time candidates and just 3.29% among those appearing after more than five attempts. In December 2025, the first-time pass rate was even higher at 47.53%, while it fell to 5.58% among candidates with more than five attempts.

The NBEMS official said the figures underline why the overall pass percentage alone cannot be used to argue that an entire examination cohort was subjected to an unfair paper.

Screening Exam for Patient Safety

"The issue is to ensure a fair and transparent examination while retaining the competency threshold necessary for patient safety," the official said, while stressing that the NBEMS remains open to legitimate candidate concerns.

At the same time, sections of the student community have raised questions over the role of overseas medical consultancies and coaching interests in the agitation, arguing that commercial players could have a vested interest in retaining prospective students within the overseas medical education pipeline.

The central issue, officials said, is that the FMGE is a screening examination for medical graduates trained outside India, not a competitive entrance test. They said the minimum qualifying standard exists because doctors must be competent to handle potentially life-threatening situations such as myocardial infarction, stroke, sepsis, complicated pregnancy, and pediatric emergencies.

Balanced Question Paper Structure Proposed

The expert panel has proposed a more balanced question-paper structure, with 30% low-, 50% moderate-, and 20% high-difficulty questions, while recommending that the mean difficulty level should not exceed 5.5. (ANI)

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