Indian medical students evacuated from Ukraine appeal to government to accommodate them in private medical colleges

A big part of Indian medicine students who had to leave Ukraine following the unprecedented conflict situation are counting on the Indian government and private medical colleges to help them continue their studies in their home countries amid uncertainty over the feasibility of delivering courses in the current format.

According to preliminary sources, the future of nearly 17,000 medical students studying at the 33 medical universities across Ukraine hangs in the balance, with the universities unable to be operational anytime soon after the Russian invasion.

“As a fourth-year medical student, I want to ask the authorities how I’m supposed to complete my course. In the current situation, it is not possible to go there because there is a crisis where there is no water, electricity and internet in Ukraine. Even if the Ukrainian government offers us to take the course in an online format, it will not be possible because medical courses cannot be taught online unless we have practical and clinical sessions. We ask the Indian government to provide the quality education that we have already received from Ukraine from India, it will be a blessing for students like me,” said SK Parvathi, a fourth-year student from the University of Bukovina in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

Students say they are ready to pay the same fees as they currently pay in Ukraine. However, the government has yet to respond to the request as currently the first priority is to ensure that all Indian citizens are evacuated and returned home.

The same request resounds from about 3000 Indian medical students studying at the Bogomletes National Medical University in Kyiv who had to leave Ukraine because the situation in the capital of Ukraine was extremely critical following the bombardments and the shelling by Russian forces. The students have already contacted the union’s health minister and the National Medical Council. The students asked the central government to address the issue in the next parliamentary session and form a committee to study the issue and find a solution.

“We are trying to meet with relevant ministers and raise our issue in parliament as this is a very crucial situation for nearly 20,000 students who had to flee Ukraine without even getting our documents and study materials back. . We are asking the government to provide us with an option so that we can continue the course in India with the same fees we paid in Ukraine. Most of us had chosen to study in Ukraine because the cost of expenses for the same course in India is not affordable for us,” said Pulkit Pareek, a 4th year medical student at the National University of Bogomolets medicine in the capital Kiev.

In India, while a 5-year course in medicine costs between Rs.30 lakhs and Rs.70 lakhs in management quota seats, the same will cost Rs.20 to Rs25 lakhs in well-established medical universities in Ukraine.

One of the reasons why many students opt for medical courses in Ukraine, Russia is due to the comparatively lower fee structure.