When the results of the June 2026 Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) were declared earlier this week, many headlines focused on one statistic: only about 12.3 percent of 37,448 candidates qualified – lowest among the last six sessions.

Though the biannual exam has historically recorded lower pass percentages in June than in December, candidates, teachers and doctors Newslaundry spoke to point to a different concern: why an examination that determines whether thousands of foreign-trained Indian doctors can practise medicine offers no response sheets, no question papers and no scope for re-evaluation.

Unlike many national examinations, FMGE candidates only receive a scorecard after the exam. They are also required to accept a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting them from reproducing or sharing examination content.

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) had defended this policy before the Central Information Commission in 2024, arguing that FMGE draws from a limited question bank and that releasing question papers or answer keys would encourage rote memorisation rather than analytical thinking.

Candidates, however, argue that protecting the integrity of the examination need not come at the cost of transparency.

A gateway to practising medicine in India

Every year, thousands of Indian students pursue MBBS degrees abroad because government medical seats remain scarce while private medical colleges often cost upwards of Rs 1 crore.

To legally practise medicine in India, they must clear the FMGE, a qualifying examination conducted by NBEMS. Unlike entrance examinations, FMGE has no ranking or percentile. Every candidate who scores 150 out of 300 qualifies.

This year, however, candidates say the examination introduced more than 20 video-based clinical questions without prior communication.

“I didn’t clear the exam this time. This was my third attempt and I scored 147,” said a 27-year-old graduate of Bukovinian State Medical University in Ukraine, requesting anonymity.

“There is a sample paper on the website, but it is not even close to the actual paper. This time, we got video questions ranging from 20 to 40 seconds. There have never been video questions before.”

According to the candidate, some of the clips showed patients in OPD settings and candidates had to identify the diagnosis.

For the candidate, the larger frustration begins after the examination.

“NBEMS has never released the question paper, answer key or anything for FMGE. This is the only exam where you only get a scorecard. Because we don’t know what we got wrong, we cannot identify our weak areas.”

The concerns are not limited to unsuccessful candidates.

‘Never saw OPD video questions before’

A graduate of Akaki Tsereteli State University in Georgia, who cleared the examination with 155 marks, voiced similar concerns. Originally enrolled at Zaporizhzhia State Medical University in Ukraine in 2018, he transferred to Georgia after the Russia-Ukraine war and completed his medical education there over seven years.

“I had never seen OPD video questions before,” he said. “When they appeared, many students froze. People got scared in the examination hall. The only reason I managed to clear was because I was confident about my theory questions.”

According to him, the problem was not the introduction of clinical videos but the lack of prior notice. 

Both candidates also alleged poor conditions at their examination centres. The Bukovinian State Medical University graduate alleged inadequate cooling and repeated power disruptions at the Sarita Vihar centre, where nearly 900 candidates appeared, while the graduate from Georgia described the examination hall in Noida’s Sector 62 as excessively hot. 

Teachers question the process

Dr Jitender Kumar, academic head at Next Learning Centre, which coaches foreign medical graduates, said teachers and doctors submitted representations through the NBEMS grievance portal and also met officials at the Board’s Delhi offices. He said they were told the examination had been conducted according to the prescribed blueprint.

Kumar said his concern is not with making the examination more clinical. “We have no problem with clinical or case-based questions. But when video-based questions are introduced without prior communication, candidates should at least know what to expect.”

Kumar said many students who routinely scored between 170 and 180 in the institute’s mock tests had narrowly missed the qualifying mark. “Just the number of students who failed by one mark is 632,” he claimed. 

He also cautioned against comparing June and December pass percentages.

The transparency debate

Candidates acknowledge that NBEMS is responsible for ensuring that only competent doctors receive licences to practise in India. Their question is whether that objective is incompatible with greater transparency.

According to the anonymous Ukraine-trained graduate, some teachers and students have decided to protest outside the NBEMS office today to get some answers. She noted that six years of medical education had cost her around Rs 30-35 lakh.

“There may be universities where standards are poor, and there may be students who haven’t prepared adequately,” she said. “But when only around 12 percent qualify, it’s difficult to accept that the remaining 88 percent are simply not competent enough to practise. If that’s the conclusion, candidates should at least be able to understand how they were evaluated.”

Candidates also point to another NBEMS examination. Before NEET-PG this year, NBEMS president Dr Abhijat Sheth publicly announced changes to the examination pattern, including the introduction of video-based questions, longer questions and increased timings. FMGE candidates, however, say they received no similar communication before their examination.

Newslaundry contacted Dr Sheth and NBEMS with detailed questions on the introduction of video-based questions, the policy of withholding answer sheets and answer keys, the grievance redressal mechanism and possible reforms. NBEMS had not responded by the time of publication. 

Small teams can do great things. All it takes is a subscription. Subscribe now and power Newslaundry’s work.