As Russia-Ukraine war rages on, pending education not on students’ minds

Indian students in a hotel arranged by the Indian government in Poland near the border

While several Indian students have managed to leave war-torn Ukraine, hundreds are still stuck. Concerns about their pending education, however, is a distant thought, with many simply glad to be alive amid rising attacks as the Russian military invasion in Ukraine took a violent turn. Some share their experiences and concerns going ahead.

Keyur Patel from Baroda, who is currently in a hotel arranged by the Indian government in Poland, is busy coordinating with students stranded in Ukraine and trying to ensure they are linked to mission groups and can safely be transported to Poland, Romania or Hungary borders. Patel, a first-year Masters in Management student at the Odessa State Agrarian University, walked 50 kms in one day to reach the Polish border. He said around 600 more Indian students are expected to come to the same hotel.

He said, "Many students are still stuck in Kyiv, how will they survive? They must get out. Thinking about or debating what will happen to their studies at this moment is not right." As the situation in Kyiv is particularly tense, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine is telling students to start leaving at the earliest and with themselves in danger, they cannot guarantee safety in case students get stuck.

"I don't want my studies to be affected. But I feel slightly relieved now as our university emailed us, saying this incident would not affect the academic session and year. They have no clarity yet as this is an unpredictable situation, so it will take at least another month or more for normalcy to resume. Some universities have also been bombed," Patel said. "Having to run away from a war-stricken country like this is scary. We must think about the mental health of the students who are stuck. They must be given time to recover first and not think about education for some time," he added.

Krishang Maheta, 18, was among the first batch of 219 students aboard the Air India flight from Bucharest to Mumbai which landed on February 26. He and several other students from Gujarat were picked up from Mumbai airport in buses sent by the state government and dropped till Ahmedabad, from where he reached his home in Rajkot Maheta, a first-year student at the Bukovinian State Medical University, said, "Of course we were worried if the war will hamper and obstruct our studies, throwing the academic year for a toss, but the university conveyed its decision to give us vacation till March 10.

We are not worried now as the first semester will be completed online. While I am happy that many from my college have managed to get to the borders safely or are back in India, there are still many stuck in Ukraine. Right now is not an appropriate time to talk about academics, as people are not in the mental state; they are still stuck in a conflict situation or have just escaped it. Safety is more important right now, and I plan to take some time off to spend with my family members."

26 Feb
Day A1 flight arrived with Indian students