Inferior transfer options, high inflation: Choices limited for Ukraine-returned Indian medical students

Meanwhile, in India, the Supreme Court on January 25, gave six weeks to an expert committee to come up with a solution for the students who are requesting to complete their medical education in India. But the government has said that it is not possible to accommodate these students in the current curriculum. The eligible students will have to qualify for FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination) and undergo a two-year long Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship.

However, students like Raza, who left at a crucial time of their course, are now unsure if their degree would even be valid as they are only taking online classes and do not have any practical experience or any scope of doing an internship.

Extending a helping hand

Meanwhile, some countries such as Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and a few others have offered to take on students who were studying in Ukrainian medical colleges.

Former Sumy State Medical University student Mohammad Faisal regrets leaving a seat at Katihar Medical College and going abroad for his MBBS. As going back to Sumy wasn’t an option, the 21-year-old native of Motihari, Bihar, did what he thought was the next best thing— take a transfer. He moved to the International Medical University of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. According to him, nearly 2,000 students have transferred from universities in Ukraine to those in Kyrgyzstan.

However, for Faisal, the transfer process did not go smoothly. Faisal had to pay $1,000 to a third-party agent in Ukraine to mail his documents, transcripts, and class 12 mark sheet from Ukraine as the university refused to send the documents directly to students. He then had to pay another $1,500 to the university in Bishkek as a consultancy fee.

Faisal said that ever since the war broke out, except for evacuation operations, Indian authorities have done little to nothing. Students like him, he said, have been left in the lurch by the Indian government.

Highlighting the differences between Sumy and Bishkek medical institutes, Faisal said the medical course in Ukraine was for nearly six years, a year more than the one in Kyrgyzstan. Many of these universities in Kyrgyzstan are not even WHO-approved and scam the children, he claimed. Even the quality of education and infrastructure here is poor when compared to Ukraine, he added.

The influx of students and the growing demand for residential places meant that rents have skyrocketed in Kyrgyzstan. Faisal, who used to pay $300 for a fully-furnished posh flat in Sumy, along with three others, is now paying double the rent for an unfurnished half-decent place in Bishkek.

He further said that in order to take advantage of the situation, the locals in Bishkek have moved to the countryside and leased their city apartments at high prices.

This has taken a mental and financial toll on the students. Faisal said his family spent around Rs 40-45 lakh till date on his education. All they are hoping now is that he clears FMGE. And for that, he has even joined an online coaching class.

While Faisal somehow managed to take a transfer, Mahtab was not that fortunate as he did not have enough money to pay the agent and other college authorities. And, neither can Mahtab return to Ukraine under these circumstances.

Back to a ‘new Ukraine’

None of the students who were evacuated thought they would go back to a war-torn country. But, today, the circumstances are different. Tired of waiting for a solution and losing hope of finding one, many students have returned to Ukraine, risking their lives to complete their education.

Aman Pandey (22) and Akanksha Yadav (22) are fourth-year students at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University. Both are planning to return to Ukraine in March and April, respectively. They have decided to go back as their university is in west Ukraine, which is not as badly impacted as Kyiv or Kharkiv. It is “fairly safer than the rest of the country.”

From what those who are already in Ukraine told Akanksha and Aman, life in the once prosperous country has dramatically changed. The country is now facing power cuts, shortage of essential items, and high inflation. From groceries to rent, everything has become expensive. The rates have almost tripled since they left. Besides, people have to look for bunkers to hide in whenever the air sirens sound.

Aman recalls how during the initial days of the invasion, they were taken down to the bunkers. He told indianexpress.com that these bunkers were built during the time of World War. These are not some small keyhole-sized structures but are in fact as big as the ground floor of any building. His friends who went back have multiple power banks with them so that their phone is never out of charge.

The flats that were abandoned during evacuation have now been occupied by people who have migrated from Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other places, said Akanksha. From what she knows, during the power cuts the whole city is not blacked out, instead, they are planned power cuts to save power.

Manda Kaushik (20) from Hyderabad, a fifth-year student at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, went back to Ukraine on February 10 as he did not want to miss his practicals.

Kaushik, Aman, and Akanksha used to stay in the university hostel. With the rising inflation, staying in an apartment is out of the question. While Aman and Akanksha are hopeful that they get their rooms back, Kaushik said there is a shortage of hostel rooms. And, even the fees have increased for students enrolling in hostels now.

Kaushik’s experience is different from what Akanksha and Aman have been told. He said that citizens are getting used to the new normal. People are going to offices, children to schools, and some even to malls for shopping. Even during air raid sirens, only the electric trams stop. Even though the power cuts have been reduced, a curfew is in place from 11 pm to 6 am during which all the street and building lights are turned off.

Taking new routes

One of the reasons why these students are going back to Ivano-Frankivsk is because it is close to the Poland border. Those returning from India fly to Poland, reach the Ukraine border, and board a bus to Ivano-Frankivsk.

There are also some students who had just begun their first year of medical school when the war began. First-year student Mahrukh Nigar from Guwahati is now pursuing BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science from Archarya Narendra Dev College, Delhi University. She has given up on the thought of going abroad for MBBS and is preparing for NEET 2023.