Ensure Ukraine-returned medicos continue their studies in India: Odisha MP to Centre 

Bhubaneswar: Expressing concern over ‘uncertain’ future of Indian students forced to leave war-torn Ukraine abandoning their medical education half-way, Rajya Sabha Member from Odisha, Prasanna Acharya, urged Union Health Minister to make an alternative arrangement so that they could continue their studies here in the country.

In a letter to Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the BJD Parliamentary leader wrote that parents and family members of the Indian students those who were having their education in Ukraine are very much concerned about the future of these students.

“As you are aware most of the Indian students in Ukraine are in medical education. Many of them in their final years, many in the middle of their education and some students were admitted in various medical universities in Ukraine very recently. I personally know many parents from my state Odisha who took much effort to arrange finances to send their wards to Ukraine for Medical education. In the present war scenario the studies of the students have been discontinued and nobody knows what would happen to their future education. At present it does not seem normalcy would restore in the war-torn country very soon and these Indian students would be able to resume their education there,” Acharya wrote to Mandaviya.

Under the above circumstances the future of such students will be doomed unless and until the Union Government take some immediate measures to save the future of these students.

The parliamentarian suggested the Union Health Minister to seriously ponder for immediate alternative arrangement for these students who were forced to abandon their studies half-way in view of the situation.

“All arrangements should be made for their entry into various medical colleges in the country, even by relaxing the prevalent rules and guidelines if necessary,” he opined.

Acharya appealed to the Health Ministry to analyse the reasons for why such a sizable number of Indian students are tempted to go to Ukraine for Medical education.

“Is it because the number of medical seats in India are in limited numbers, the expenses for medical education in India are so high in comparison to other countries like Ukraine which the middle class Indian parents are not able to afford or whether the standard of medical education in these countries are better than that in India? he asked.

He requested the minister to give immediate thought to all these problems highlighted above and find out suitable solutions in order to facilitate continuance of medical education of the Indian students who have left Ukraine.