Russia-Ukraine War: Evacuated Indian Students opting out of Ukrainian Universities
New Delhi: The Indian students who have been evacuated from the war-torn country of Ukraine are opting out of Ukrainian Universities due to the prolonged war-like situation in the European country.
Most students belonging to Ukrainian universities are dependent on online classes. However, most returnees are hopeful that the NMC would come up with a solution soon for medical students in Ukraine.
A third year medical student of the National Medical University in Kharkiv, Omkar Venkatchari, wrote end semester exams after appearing for online lectures.
Though he is preparing for KROK-1, Ukraine’s qualifying medical examination, returning to the country seems unlikely. Therefore, his peers and he are considering moving to a different country to finish the course.
“The agency through which we (Indian students) went to university conducted a poll last week. They asked if we wanted to continue in Ukraine or leave for other countries and it was a unanimous yes,” he said.
“There is no clarity on which country, documents, qualifying exams, equivalence. Will we have to learn another language? What are the costs?” Venkatchari added.
A first year student at the Bokovinian State Medical University in Chernivtsi, Parth Dixit, said, “Though area surrounding my university was not entirely affected, but he had kept shifting as an emergency option. With tragic news coming in from Ukraine though, he might make the choice.
“When we came back to India, there was still hope. They said online classes would go on for a while and by June, we could return to university. Even today, the area in which our university is located is not affected as much. They are saying we could possibly resume offline classes in September, but we are not sure if we want to return,” Dixit said.
A student of Dnipro State Medical University, Pranjal Kaushik said, ““We had rented out a flat in Ukraine with friends. We would buy groceries locally and cook on our own, but now, food prices have shot through the roof. And it is not just food. Locals have lost jobs and business; the rents will be higher for international students. Besides, it will be unsafe as well.”
Shifting to another country raises also concerns surrounding financial and logistical aspects. According to one of the Indian student from Dnipro State Medical University, the entire point of enrolling in Ukraine after not getting a government medical seat was to look for a cheaper alternative, since private medical colleges are too expensive in India.
Meanwhile, Dr. Audhoot Nidgude, a representative of MD House, the agency that recruits students for the Bokovinian State Medical University, said, “Education was continuing uninterrupted online and we thought it was only a matter of time before they went back as there are several issues in transferring midway.”
“We have seen this earlier when some of our students moved to Armenia during Covid-19 two years ago. The students were told their degrees and transfer won’t be recognised here and they fell into a bigger problem. If a student wants to move, they need their documents and transcripts. We were also waiting for semester exams to get over so the situation gets clear with time,” he added.
(Avya Mathur)
