Singapore: Singapore is planning to recruit 180 junior doctors from India in the next three years. According to the news, a target has been set to recruit 60 medical officers from India every year from 2022 to 2024 under a tender that ends on October 10. There is also a possibility of extending this scheme till 2025.
According to MOH Holdings (MOHH), a company affiliated with Singapore’s public health institutions, Singapore is recruiting doctors from abroad to reduce the workload and meet the needs of its health sector. Confirming the tender, the company said that doctors are being recruited not only from India but also from Australia and UK.
According to the company, they are looking for people who have graduated from medical schools listed in the Medical Registration Act. “These doctors will be allowed conditional registration for ‘clinical practice’ under stringent regulations,” the company said.
According to the company, “Preference is given to local people graduating from medical schools recognized by the Singapore Medical Council”. Many people have raised questions about this on social media. Some raised questions about the recruitment of doctors from India, while some expressed concern about fake certification. Others asked why couldn’t Singapore increase the number of students in the country’s medical schools instead.
Jeremy Lim, associate professor at the Saw Swee Hawk School of Public Health, said in a post on social media late last month that it is a matter of concern if developed countries like Singapore recruit health professionals from abroad. MAHH said it recruits about 700 junior doctors every year. Of these, 90 percent are residents of Singapore who either attended medical schools in Singapore or returned to the country after graduating from recognized medical schools abroad. The shortage of doctors in the country has increased in the last few years.
Channel News Asia quoted a company spokesperson as saying that between 2012 and 2019, Singapore medical schools increased student enrollment by 45 percent. In 2012 it was 350 and in 2019 it became 510. An additional 40 students were admitted in 2020 and 2021 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
