Fate of Ukraine return medical students in doldrums, IMA says govt has to take a call

Even as they were evacuated by the Indian government under 'Operation Ganga' from the strife-torn Ukraine, students like Shivam Singh, Bhargav Narayan Choudhary, and others are making an earnest appeal to the government to look into their fate and accommodate them in medical colleges in India. Writes ETV Bharat's Senior Correspondent Gautam Debroy.

New Delhi: More than 18,000 Indian students are pursuing their careers in the field of medical education in Ukraine, according to statistics from the External Affairs Ministry.

"We give first priority to our own country. Even if we get good marks in NEET, we don't have enough medical colleges to accommodate all the medical aspirants. There is also a vast difference in doctors and population ratio in India," said Aladin, a third-year medical student studying in Ukraine.

Aldine who hails from Assam's Kharupetia said that he went abroad to study medicine and pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. "Ukraine was a peaceful country and the fee to pursue medical education was also economical," said Aladin who was a third-year student of a university in Ukraine. His institute was also attacked by the Russian missiles.

"I appeal to the Indian government to accommodate us in different medical colleges. In fact, other countries also assured their citizens, who returned from Ukraine that they will be accommodated in State-run medical institutes," said Aladin.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also pushed the fate of Bhargav Narayan Choudhury of Assam into uncertainty. "We don't know what to do now. I was in the second year of my study. The university management assured us that they will resume classes once the situation gets back to normal," said Bhargav.

On the fate such students who returned to India due to the ongoing Russian invasion into Ukraine, ETV Bharat spoke to Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the Union Health Ministry, who said that the concerned division of the government will provide the required support. However, he did not clarify what support will be provided by the government to those students who have left their education and returned back to their homes."

When this correspondent contacted the Indian Medical Association (IMA), its secretary-general Dr. Jayesh M Lele said that this is a very big issue. "Either the Union Health Ministry or the National Medial Commission (NMC) will have to take a call on this. Of course, we will discuss the matter in our IMA committee before approaching the government," said Dr. Lele.

It's a fact that students from across India go to study medicine, engineering, and other courses in Ukraine and other European countries as the study and admission fee is very economical in those countries in comparison to India.

As per statistics, it takes only Rs 30-35 lakh for one student to complete medical education in Ukraine whereas it takes more than Rs 1 crore for the same in any private medical college in India. On the other hand, MBBS seats in the government medical college are also very limited in the country.

Statistics from the Union Health Ministry said that the National Medical Commission (NMC), an apex regulatory body of 33 members which regulates medical education and medical professional in India has approved at least 132 medical colleges in the government sector and 77 medical colleges in the private sector in the country since 2014.

"The number of UG seats has also increased by 72 percent from 51,348 before 2014 to 88,120 seats as of the date and the numbers of PG seats have increased by 78 percent from 31,185 before 2014 to 55,595 seats including DNB and CPS seats," the government statistics in possession of ETV Bharat said.

The total number of MBBS seats in the 596 government medical colleges across India during the year 2021-22 was 88120. Significantly, in a recent circular issued by the NMC, all private medical colleges in the country have been asked to give 50 percent seats at government college fees from the next academic session.

Ironically, government statistics said that medical colleges across India had a very minimum number of vacant seats in the year 2018-19 and 2019-20. Only 274 vacant seats were available in 2018-19 and 273 vacant seats were available in 2019-20.

Ironically, every allopathic doctor in India caters to at least 1,511 people, which is much higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) norms of one doctor for every 1,000 people. Following the shortage of medical seats and costly private medical seats in India, students prefer to pursue their career in the field of medicine in other countries like China, Ukraine, Russia, the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia among others.

As per the Ministry of External Affairs, 23,000 Indian students are presently studying medicine in China, 18000 in Ukraine, 16,500 in Russia, 15,000 in the Philippines, 10,000 in Kyrgyzstan, and 7,500 in Georgia.

The higher number of Indian students pursuing medical study abroad also marked a record number of students appearing for the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) over the last five years. FMGE is a mandatory test for all Indian students who got their MBBS degree from abroad and want to practice medicine in India.

"We are ready to appear in the FMGE to make ourselves eligible to practice medicine in India," said Shivam Singh, a fourth-year student of medical science in Ukraine. "I was supposed to complete my MBBS degree from Ukrainian university by 2024. But the present situation has made out future uncertain," said Shivam who hails from Bihar.