The clouds of war over Ukraine have literally cast their shadow on the lives of thousands of Malayali medical students evacuated from that country as there is no clarity over the continuation of their education. The universities in Ukraine have informed the students that they will remain closed till March 31. The online classes will begin by April first week and will continue till June end. They will assess the situation in June and a final decision on the international students will be taken thereafter.
Kripa Shyam, a second year medical student, Sumy State University, who hails from Vattiyurkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, told The Hindu, “I wish to go back to Ukraine once the war is over. It took me around two years to get acclimatised to the lifestyle and environment there. We even learnt Ukrainian as part of our curriculum. We have to reacquire such skills if compelled to study in another country,” she said.
Less expensive
Shyam T.K., her father, who is manager in the recruitment section of NoRKA Roots, the field agency of the Department of Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKA), said thousands of students from Kerala chose Ukraine to study medicine as the expenses were less. A student spends around ₹30-35 lakhs to complete the six-year medical programme in Ukraine. A substantial number of students availed themselves of education loans for the purpose.
The main challenge for the students is that the curricula followed by Asian countries and European countries are different. They cannot enrol in Asian universities to restart their education even if allowed to do so. The medical education in Ukraine is a six-year programme while the MBBS course is a 5.5-year programme, including one-year internship, in India or other Asian countries.
Other options
“So, if war continues, it will be better for the students to choose universities in countries like Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Moldova, Romania, or Bulgaria to continue their education. However, many of these countries are still under Russian influence. Considering the geopolitical situation, students can also explore the possibility for continuing their education in Russian universities,” said Mr. Shyam.
Renish Joseph, leader of the Indian Student Community, Sumy State University, Ukraine, said the students will have to get a no objection certificate (NoC), among other things, to move out of Ukraine. The university authorities in Ukraine have confirmed that they are in touch with other foreign universities to facilitate student exchange in case the situation does not not improve in Ukraine by June. “But there are 20,000-odd medical students from India alone in Ukraine. So the best option for now is to wait for some time and take a decision based on the developments,” said Mr. Joseph.
