Returning back may cost over Rs 3 lakh, say Indian medical students after China allows 'some' to pursue offline studies

Screengrab of Google form from Embassy`s press release.

After the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced returning of ‘some' Indian medical students to China on April 29 to attend the offline lectures, the students are now worried about the expense and the criterion of what basis ‘some' students will be selected.

While the one-page Google form on the Indian Embassy in Beijing website has asked basic questions to the students, it does not highlight any details or important questions through which the students can know the basis on which ‘some' students will be given a chance to return to China after two years to attend in-class lectures.

Apart from the selection process, the expenses to return to the country to continue their studies, which they have learnt through their friends from other countries, have left the Indian medical students in a dilemma.

"After spending around Rs 4-5 lakh each year to complete five years of the medical course, we now have to shell out around Rs 3- Rs 5 lakh to buy a flight ticket and hotel quarantine expenses," says Shahnawaz Khan, a fifth-year medical student from the Anhui University.

Anxiety over the selection process and expenses

Over 20,000 Indian medical students, who were earlier studying in China, are stuck in India for the past two years after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the neighbouring country in December 2019. While they are now filling up the Google form provided by the Indian embassy, the students and parents have unanswered questions about the expense and the selection criterion.

"During the announcement, the ministry did not mention on what basis will they select 'some' students. If they choose fifth-year students (as they will be graduating with a provisional degree in June this year), it does not make sense for me to spend over Rs 3 lakh to return to China for a month. They are not providing us with any quarantine facilities in the hostel. A few of my friends from other countries such as Russia who travelled back to China were asked to be quarantined in a 5-star hotel," says Khan, who lives in New Delhi.

He adds, "Spending over Rs 3 lakh just to book a flight ticket and to quarantine in a 5-star hotel is akin to paying a fee for a year. After getting a provisional degree, I will still have to come back to India to complete a one-year medical internship in order to get a degree certificate."

Shubham Gupta, who hails from Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, is a fourth-year student at Hubei University of Medicine, says, "We have to fill up basic details in the form such as name, university name, graduating year, passport details and if we can bear our own expenses related to flight tickets (charter flight ticket if required) and hotel quarantine. There is no more information from the embassy or government."

"A few of my friends from other countries who returned to China recently shared their expense details with me. Personally, I can afford around Rs 1-1.5 lakh, but not everyone can afford to spend over Rs 3 lakh to travel to China. Many students and parents have raised this issue with the Indian medical students group," says Akshra Singh, a third-year medical student from Harbin Medical University.

The students from India admitted to the Chinese universities have been attending online lectures for the past two years without any clinical practice, while those from Pakistan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Russia have been permitted to return to China to attend offline classes.

In a statement, the Indian Embassy in Beijing said, "The Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students on a need-assessed basis. To facilitate this (return), the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students, which will be shared with the Chinese side for consideration. Therefore, Indian students are requested to provide the necessary information by filling up the Google form latest by May 8."

"We are waiting for the deadline to complete. Soon we will be reaching out to universities to arrange quarantine facilities in our hostels if possible so that it will be a pocket-friendly expense for the students," adds Khan.

Students complain about the circulation of fake Google form

While the Google form shared by the embassy does not have any logo or authenticity mark, a few students found out fake Google forms were circulated among the students.

Mumbai-based Rachita Kurmi, 21, a third-year medical student from Shandong University, took up this issue by writing to the embassy. Besides the difference between the questions and a change in font, the form looks exactly the same, says the member of the students' body.

The Indian embassy in Beijing took note of this issue and gave a clarification on Twitter stating that the students should only fill up the form issued in the press release of the Indian Embassy and it will not be responsible for any misleading information in this regard.