Frustration and depression seem to be driving medical students back to Ukraine to return to the war-torn country. They have been asking for accommodation in Indian medical colleges for about 8 months but the National Medical Commission (NMC) has so far refused to accept this idea. The motions filed by the students against the NMC’s position were heard in the Supreme Court yesterday, August 26. Although the court issued notices to the Center and the NMC on the matter, the hearing was adjourned to September 5. more time, while talking to Edex Live.
The constraint
“Our universities in Ukraine have notified that they are starting offline courses from September 1. There is an option to continue online courses, but the NMC does not validate online courses,” says Harsh Goel, a student from Uttar Pradesh studying in Ivano. Frankivsk National Medical University (IFNMU), Ukraine. Students also explain that for fifth and sixth graders, this is the penultimate and final year, and that they have been advised to continue classes offline. “Clinical training is also necessary,” adds Harsh.
If students complete their courses online, the NMC will not validate their degrees, per its 2021 guidelines, Harsh informs. “In this confusion, it is better to go back to Ukraine and see what is happening there than to stay at home and wait,” he said. At the same time, the students admit the huge risk but say they have no options and have lost hope that the NMC or the Center will come to their aid now. “It’s mass suicide, yes, but it’s better than seeing our dreams die,” he says ominously.
“The fear of uncertainty is scarier than death,” says Shalini Chauhan, another student from Delhi, who studies at Zaporizhzhia State Medical University (ZSMU), Ukraine. She talks about the risks and informs us that the situation in Ukraine is not stable. “Students had sent a letter to the Ukrainian embassy, asking them to stay in India and continue online classes. My university has a nuclear power plant nearby, so it has been closed,” Shalini said. .
But diplomas on lives?
It can be noted that the Indian government does not allow the return of Indian students due to the risks involved. So families take a tourist visa for countries like Moldova, Romania or Poland, then take a transit visa from there to Ukraine and travel by bus, informs Sonia Lumba, parent of a Ukrainian student from Delhi . “I don’t think anyone should do that. It’s illegal and risky. Choosing degrees over lives is unreasonable. I don’t understand how parents allow their wards,” she said.
“Students have to wait for the court’s decision. Until then, they should choose online courses and not risk their lives,” says RB Gupta, president of the Association of Parents of Medical Students of Ukraine (PAUMS), in agreement. However, he admits students face a shortage of options as universities call them back and third-year students have to attend the mandatory Prok exam in October, while court judgment may take longer. He still hopes for a favorable decision by the end of September.
Gupta further informs that students who have returned to Ukraine have to live in bunkers and classes are also held in these bunkers. “They have to study in a scary environment,” he says. Harsh, whose friends from Delhi have returned to Ukraine, confirms this fact. “They said they have to run when they hear sirens. Ukrainian students are used to it. They know where to run and how to cope. But for us foreigners it is difficult and scary,” he says.
Gupta and Lumba say that it was university officials who urge students to return and informed students about the transit visa method. “The officers said the Supreme Court questioned their merit and would not entertain them,” Gupta said. Lumba, who was present at the hearing, said the court had indeed questioned the merit of Ukrainian students and was not favorable to their accommodation in public colleges.
On the other hand, Rajesh Soni, a parent from Punjab who sent his daughter to Ukraine, says: “Not all areas are at risk. Only one or two universities are concerned. The others follow continuous courses. He informs us that his daughter was one of the first students to leave and that she left for Ukraine via Romania. “It was a very difficult journey. She had to endure a long layover in Istanbul and then a 17-hour bus trip to Ukraine,” he says. He also informs that his daughter’s university has said she would move to Scotland if at risk. “My daughter’s university is 2,000km from the Russian border. It is safe. But it is worrying that there are around 18,000 other students stranded in India, who cannot return,” says Soni.
But is retreating the only option?
“There is a transfer option and some students have already transferred to universities in Russia, Belarus, Romania and Georgia,” says Gupta. But he adds that Ukrainian universities charge around $500 to $1,000 for transcripts and students don’t have the freedom to choose where they want to transfer. The university chooses for them, it informs and the students confirm this fact.
“The NMC does not allow mobility either. When we approached the NMC with this issue, they were rude to us,” recalls Saddam Hussain, a student from West Bengal, who is studying at Kharkiv Medical University. “Other transfer issues involve learning a new language and once again spending a large amount of money,” Harsh says, while Saddam adds, “Universities also take students a year below their current year”.