As per the National Medical Commission, those students who qualify for the NEET examination can only get admission into medical colleges. "This is an obstacle for the Ukraine-returned MBBS students to get admission in Indian medical colleges," Panneerselvam said.
Prime minister alone can find a solution
Writing to the Prime Minister, Panneerselvam said, NMC has allowed the Ukraine-returned MBBS students to complete their mandatory 12-month internship in India provided they clear the foreign medical graduate examination before applying for such internship in India "On account of this, the total number of affected students came down approximately to 12,000," he said.
As many as 14,000 Indian students, including 1,900 from Tamil Nadu, who had enrolled in several Ukrainian universities, have returned to India since the war. These students are under severe stress now owing to their uncertain future, Panneerselvam commented.
"The fate of Indian medical students rescued from the war-hit Ukraine hangs in balance. They have spent lakhs of rupees with the hope that they will become doctors. They have returned to India in the hope that the central government will make adequate arrangements to pursue their studies in India."
Noting that Prime Minister alone can find a solution to this problem, he said. "I, therefore, request you to kindly intervene in this matter urgently and advise the NMC to relax the relevant guidelines, as a special case, to enable the Ukraine-returned MBBS students to continue their studies in the medical colleges in India."
Exploring options to minimise the impact: Centre
Last month, the Centre informed that it is exploring options to minimise the impact. India facilitated the safe return of about 22,500 Indians, mostly students, from Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
“The impact of the situation on the education of children has been severe and further aggravated the pandemic-related challenges that children were already facing," India’s Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador R Ravindra had said
“We are exploring options to minimise the impact on our students' education. We appreciate the relaxations made by the Ukrainian Government for this academic year in respect of medical students," Ravindra added.
(With inputs from agencies)
