Ukraine asks medical students to return, but Mumbai parents not comfortable

Some medical universities in war-torn Ukraine have decided to resume in-person classes from September, and have asked the students in India to return provided the situation stabilises. However, neither the youngsters nor their parents are willing to return so soon, even though they are worried about academic loss. They are also in a dilemma in the absence of any guidelines or advisory from the Indian government.

In letters to their respective students, the Ukrainian students said the move to restart offline classes was aimed at preventing students from falling for "misleading" offers from other higher educational institutes in free economic zones of other countries. They are just awaiting orders from the Ministry of Education in Ukraine, the letters stated.

According to students, the universities in Ukraine, through their teachers and group leaders, are trying to take a stock of the situation here [India] and get an idea of how many students are willing to return.

Also read: In talks with Ukraine neighbours to accommodate Indian medical students: Jaishankar

Not so soon

Khushi Chogle, a student of VNMU, said, "The universities are not forcing students, they are just informing us about offline classes starting soon. We do want to go back, but not so soon." Janhvi Yadav from Pune said: "The [VNMU] administration is trying to understand how many students are willing to return. Many students are willing to go back once the situation stabilises, as our degree won't be recognised if we complete the course online. I hope the Indian government issues some clarity on this. Our parents are also worried about sending us back right now."

Sahil Pal, a student of Zaporizhzhya State Medical University in south-eastern Ukraine, said "Our university has not sent us any letter, but we were asked about it on WhatsApp groups. I do not wish to go back."

What the letters say

"The administration wants to inform you that, as you know, from the very beginning of the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine, our university has not stopped its work on both educational and organisational services. We want to assure you that the university will continue to provide educational services to all students in full," reads the letter from VNMU or National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsia, to the Indian students.

The letter added, "The university is fully ready and plans to start offline studying from September 2022, provided the situation stabilises and the order of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine is issued. The university administration would like to draw your attention to the fact that the university's policy is not aimed at expelling or transferring students to other HEIs [higher education institutions] or other countries. The university is not and was not the initiator of unjustified expulsion or transfer of students to other educational institutions both in Ukraine and abroad.

"The university administration asks students not to succumb to provocations or baseless misleading offers to transfer to free economic zones of other countries in order to save your money and time," it added. Lviv National Medical University, Bukovinian State Medical University in Chernivtsi, Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv and Ternopil National Medical University are also known to have sent letters/emails to their students.

What state govt says

An official from the medical education department said, "Students are currently receiving assistance through various programmes and initiatives by the Maharashtra University of Health Science (MUHS). However, only the Union government can decide whether Ukraine-returned students can enrol in medical schools in India. We will only be able to comment on their return once the situation there has stabilised."

Maharashtra Minister for Medical Education Amit Deshmukh on June 9 tweeted: "Many students have returned to their homes in Maharashtra from Ukraine. We will approach the central government to accommodate these students in medical colleges of the state so that they do not suffer any academic loss." The matter was discussed during a meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar in presence of senior officials from the medical education department, he had added.