Hundreds of Indian medical students sought from Ukraine now went to Russia to complete their studies

In a phone conversation with ‘Pitri-Bhasha’, Jiji said, “Russia is welcoming us. He is not charging extra. We are being allowed to continue with our studies and there will be very few of us working.” Originally from Kerala, GG is now pursuing his MBBS at North Government Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Just a year back, GG was in the fifth year of MBBS course at the University of Sumy, Ukraine and was nearing completion of her education. In the year 2022 he had absolutely no rights and would be a citizen of the country he was studying in.

Everyone was shocked by the war started by Russia. Hundreds of students, including GG, started the evacuation journey after the war started and reached the western border of Ukraine. Indian students were repatriated under ‘Operation Ganga’ of the Government of India. A total of 17,000 people were repatriated from war-torn Ukraine, most of whom are students.

Many Indian students pursuing medical studies there had no option but to fly out of Ukraine and complete their studies in other queries. Many students have opted for Russia, Serbia, Uzbekistan and other European countries to continue their studies.

Jiji said, “The time after coming to India was very active. We thought that the war would end soon and we would return. But even our student coordinators were not giving straight answers after months of time estimation.” He said that the students took transfers to other universities under the Academic Transfer Program.

In September last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Medical Council (NMC) issued notification according to which NMC will accept degrees from other countries (with the parent university of Ukraine and with your consent) on completion of the rest of the studies.

GG completed his reign in July this year. He said, “There are about 150 students in Russia whom I say have come from Ukraine. Transfer has happened. When there is no hope left, we will come in October.

He explained that some of his comrades moved to Ukraine but believes that the decision to come to Russia is the best.

RB Gupta, president of the Union of Students Studying in Ukraine (PAUMS), claimed that around 2,500 students have gone back to Ukraine, while around 4,000 students are enrolling in other countries, including Serbia, Russia and Uzbekistan.