International Medical Students: Friends or Foes?

A recent comment from the Minister of Health about international students in the country’s top medical schools sparked a debate among educators about the direction for internationalization of our universities. Should welcoming international medical students be at the price of reducing the seats reserved for Indonesia’s brightest students?
Indonesia’s health sector faces the problem of not having enough doctors to serve our population and the poor quality health services for our citizens. It is therefore logical to remind our universities of their noble responsibility to educate future health professionals who should be serving the world’s fourth most populous nation and not putting financial gains as the first consideration in accepting international medical students.
Nevertheless, the idea of banning universities from taking in any international medical students might stifle the internationalization process at universities and may not necessarily bring any improvement for our health sector.
Universities world wide are being ranked for their ability to attract international students to come to their campuses. The low rank of our best universities in international surveys is often caused by the low enrolment of international students. Our medical schools are actually pioneering the way for internationalization to take place in our universities. It might be surprising that from 5,366 international students studying in Indonesia in 2007, nearly half of them are in our medical schools.
In fact, many countries around the world open their doors for international medical students, including Australia. From below 300 in the year 2000, the number of international students commencing medical studies in Australia climbed to well over 400 in 2006. The number will continue rising in the coming years as more medical schools are opened in Australia. These international medical students are not only there because Australian universities need to generate income.
Financial gain is certainly very attractive. Countries that become top destinations of international students generate millions of dollars from their education industry. However, it is not the first and sole reason why we enroll international students.
Germany was famous for letting international students studied for free. Now, it allows international students to pay the exact amount of money that local students spend for their tuition fees. Australia began accepting international students by giving out scholarships under the Colombo Plan. New Zealand enrolls international PhD students paying the same tuition fee with the local ones.
The value of international education, whether in a school of medicine or a school of humanities, lies in the exchange of knowledge and science with people from around the globe, and the human spirit of embracing diversities and expanding linkages with anyone who comes from far-away lands to further their studies among us. In the long run, countries that welcome international students eventually build up their own reputation as tolerant and open countries as well as global centers of learning and research without disadvantaging the local student population.
For Indonesian context, welcoming international students is very important in regaining our reputation as a peaceful country. The present international students in our campuses will be Indonesia’s best ambassadors in the days to come. They will invite more of their friends and family members to come to our country. In due course, they will bring more students to study at Indonesian finest universities and build the international reputation for our higher education.
Welcoming international students in medical schools does not necessary mean that the seats for our local students are sacrificed for their international friends. International double degree programs such as the one offered at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Indonesia along with two Australian medical schools allows the Faculty to expand their intake capacity and provide international medical curriculum for our own citizens as well as citizens of other countries.
Carefully-planned international programs are probably the key to increase the number of international students without losing the seats reserved for our own citizens in the regular under-graduate medical program. This strategy certainly can ease the burden of financing medical schools. It allows more qualified Indonesians to study medicine at a reasonable cost because it is subsidized by the income generated from the international students.
By applying international curriculum and subsidizing the local students, Indonesian medical schools will produce more internationally qualified health professionals just by spending a modest cost. Ultimately, Indonesia will have enough international- standard physicians to cater the needs of our own citizens. The need to go to another country to have international standard health service will be significantly reduced.
Without proper evaluation of the benefits and problems of our international medical programs, taking a step to stop receiving international medical students may prematurely kill the internationalization of our higher-education sector and prevent us from receiving global recognition for our finest universities.
 

This article has been published in The Jakarta Post on 12 July 2008.