Over the last few days, P. Suresh, a resident of Kodambakkam, has been scanning the international news intently.
What happens in Ukraine, where the political situation is currently volatile, is of intense interest to him; for his only daughter, Nisha Evangelin, is in her first year at Crimea State Medical University.
“I am very worried about what is going on there and I Skype with Nisha every day. I have informed the Indian Embassy authorities there and the police here too. We’re not sure what to do. I don’t want to bring her back, as the second semester is not over yet, and her education may suffer,” said Mr. Suresh, formerly with the police department.
On Monday evening, Nisha was in her hostel at the university, while outside on the streets, protests raged. Speaking to The Hindu from Crimea, she said,
“We have been asked to stay in our hostels and not leave campus. The Indian Embassy officials met with all students and have assured us of our safety. They have said that if the situation worsens, they will fly us home immediately.”
Dozens of other parents, whose children are studying in Ukraine, are on tenterhooks, waiting, and wondering what the best course of action is. Many Indian students have already left the country and returned home, some parents reported.
J. Thyagarajan, whose son Praveen Raj is in his third year at the university, said, “The university was shut for five days last week. But I spoke to my son on Sunday, and he said classes are resuming this week,” he said.
Other parts of Ukraine though, parents said, were better off. In fact, some students from Crimea had travelled to Kharkiv and other, interior parts last week, waiting for the situation to stabilise. T. Nagarajan, father of a first-year student at Kharkiv National Medical University, said the situation there was normal.
Around 2,500 Indian students go to Ukraine for higher education every year, the majority for medicine, said Suresh Kumar R., owner of Truematics Overseas Education Consultancy.
Last year, around 80 students from Tamil Nadu went to Crimea, he said.
“While so far there have been no problems for our students, we are making sure they have return tickets booked so that if the crisis worsens, they can come home immediately,” he said.
“We are urging students and parents not to panic,” said Angella Benedict, director, Nission Education Consultants, which facilitates admission to several universities in Ukraine.
“If the situation changes, we are even prepared to transfer our Crimea students to Kharkiv so that their education is not disrupted,” she said.
The Indian Embassy, meanwhile, has asked all Indians to register on its website so they can be contacted for “disseminating relevant information”.
