CHEAPER TO DO MBBS IN GEORGIA!

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July 24 - July 31, 2026, Stray Thoughts July 24, 2026 , by Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week about the huge costs of medical education upon passing the NEET exam, whether it’s the first or second time after the leak, which is the most challenging aspect of becoming a doctor. For a Saturday following the week on why Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is asking qualified nurses to look for opportunities abroad. For a Saturday following the week with the increasing preference of parents for private English-medium schools with CBSC Cambridge curriculum. For a Saturday following the week when the Vice-President of the BJP in Goa, advocate Narendra Sawaikar, added insult to injury by calling the protesting students “termites.”

WANT TO BE DOCTOR?
AND a few stray thoughts on the huge costs of medical education. Passing the NEET exam, whether the first time or for the second time after the leak, is the most challenging aspect of becoming a doctor. Over 11 lakh students have qualified in the NEET exams. It must be understood that the NEET entrance exam is not only for MBBS students but also for the common entrance exam for dental colleges, physiotherapists, radiology technicians, etc. The NEET exams are also the basis for admission to courses in Homeopathy and Ayurveda. It has been revealed that there are about 60,000 seats in government medical colleges, which are the only colleges that middle-class and poor students can afford.
The annual fees in government medical colleges range from Rs10,000 to Rs1.5lakh a year. In the more reasonable private medical colleges, the fees range between Rs6 to Rs15 lakh, with the five-year course costing a crore. In the most expensive premium private college like the Manipal Group of institutions the cost for the entire course of 4-and-half years including internship, can go up to Rs1.5crore.
Among the private medical colleges those run by Christian missionaries are far more affordable. The Christian Medical College in Vellore considered among the best medical colleges in the country, charges a fee of Rs1 lakh per year. Among the other missionary-run colleges where the fees are reasonable is a St John Medical College in Bengaluru and Christian Medical College in Ludhiana in Punjab.
And then again it could be much cheaper to study medicine in a country abroad, like Georgia. In contrast to the Rs1.5 crore fees charged by premium private medical colleges in India you can complete the full course and the living expenses like hostel fees, between Rs20-Rs45 lakh in Georgia, Russia and even neighboring Nepal. This is the expense only for the basic MBBS schools. If you want to specialize and do your MD it could cost you another Rs1crore in a private medical college. It is not surprising that private medical colleges charge you so much because they have to pay the best doctors huge amounts to attract them.
Conversely, there are literally over a hundred vacancies in the super specialty departments of the Goan Medical College & Hospital because the maximum salary earnings here are Rs3 lakh.

Up on a wall at the old GMC’s Yoo Cafeteria where the pharmacies are also located…interesting information for medical students!

CM: NURSES GO ABROAD!
AND a few stray thoughts on why Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is asking Goa’s qualified nurses to look for job opportunities abroad. There are as many as eight nursing colleges in Goa. Of them, there are two government nursing colleges offering BSc courses and diplomas and six private nursing institutes. The combined intake annually has crossed the 500 mark. The GMC and the Directorate of Health Services are house full.
In any case, only qualified nurses from Sattari and Saquelim constituency can get permanent jobs as nurses in the GMC. The minimum starting salary for nurses in the government is Rs55,000 per month which can go up to Rs1.5 lakh after 20 years of service. In contrast, fresh BSc nursing graduates can only hope to get Rs15,000 even in hospitals like Manipal and Healthway and the smaller nursing homes like Campal Clinic which hire nurses who have done diploma from institutions like the ANN Institute, and pay them as little as Rs10,000 to Rs15,000. Unlike government hospitals, private hospitals offer no benefits like washing, travelling allowance, etc, to their staff; there is also no job security.
This is why Goa has seen a mass migration of nurses to the Gulf, the UK, Australia and Canada among other countries. The National Health Service in UK is now staffed entirely by nurses from India, Pakistan and Jamaica.

ENGLISH-MEDIUM ONLY!
AND a few stray thoughts on the increasing preference of parents for private English-medium schools with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSC) with Cambridge curriculum. Recent figures released by the Education Department shows that more students are enrolled in private schools like Sharda Mandir and Manav Vikas than in aided institutions. There is a huge explosion in the number of private primary schools such as Sunshine, Zee schools, and there are some fancy primary and kindergarten schools which have come up in Dona Paula.
Historically, Goan parents have been quite happy to send their children to the aided schools run by the Diocese and other Christian missionaries. Schools like Don Bosco, Green Rosary, Auxilium school, etc. Panaji also has private aided schools like the People’s Mustifund and Hegdewar schools. The aided schools on average charge fees between Rs20,000 to Rs30,000 per year. In addition they may charge a small amount of fees for optional activities.
In contrast, the premium private schools charge between Rs1lakh and Rs3lakhs per year, excluding the cost of transport, uniform and other activities. If you include this the cost could go up to Rs5 to Rs10 lakh. The teachers in the premium private schools ironically, are paid less than in aided schools. This is because the salaries of teachers in aided schools are paid by the government. Teachers in privately owned schools do not enjoy any benefits like gratuity, pension, etc. The so called elite private schools may have smart blackboards, computer labs and swimming pools but they are useless when it comes to preparing students for competitive exams like NEET and IIT entrance exam. Students of private schools switch to Mustifund or Dempos often at the 9th standard itself to prepare for their competitive exams. I have a suspicion that the majority of private schools cater to the rich migrants of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta and Bengaluru and elsewhere who have relocated in Goa.

STUDENTS `TERMITES’
AND a few stray thoughts on the Vice President of the BJP in Goa, advocate Narendra Sawaikar (former MLA), added insult to injury by calling the protesting students at Jantar Mantar as “termites.” This was in reaction to the large number of young people in Goa who decided to take out a candlelight march from Miramar to Azad Maidan on July 21, 2026. Leaders of all Opposition parties including Girish Chodankar of the Congress, Valmiki of the Aam Aadmi party and Vijai Sardesai of Goa Forward, joined the students’ protest.
The students should now target Narendra Sawaikar, who of course refuses to apologize for his remarks. I personally believe that all the BJP ministers and leaders in Goa should be boycotted socially. They should not be invited to inaugurate or preside over any function. All grocery shops, including e-commerce platforms, should refuse to supply them any goods. Private garages should not fill their vehicle tanks. Gas agencies should not give them cylinders. Their children should not be admitted into colleges or schools. Only this may teach them a lesson in how not to play with their lives and careers of students.