Future of Indian students coming back from Ukraine looks bleak

Aman Mishra is waiting for his sister Mansi Mishra, a second-year medical student at VN Karazin Kharkiv National Medical University, to return home. “It’s been two years but now we just want to get him back. There is no clarity about what will happen in his medical college class, ”said Aman. Until Monday morning, he was stuck in Kharkiv while his family was in Gorakhpur.

The future of thousands of students stranded on the Ukrainian border and those who have just returned home is in the grip of war. Primarily medical students, many have only a few years left of the 6-year course, but now their future looks as bleak as in war-torn Ukraine.

“Historically, educational institutions have survived armed conflict, and we sincerely hope and pray that once the political situation is resolved and the situation calms down in the next 4-5 months, the universities will reopen,” said Tarun Agarwal, chief business officer of the college. Says. Admission and Education Services Platform. “However, given the current politically fluid situation, it is very difficult to say for sure when the academy will reopen.”

Uzaif Rabbani, a fourth-year medical student in Kharkiv, has been living in a bunker for the past few days and came to his apartment when the curfew was lifted. “I have two years left and once I am removed, I have to think about what will happen to my degree,” he said.

An adviser to the Indian embassy in Kviv on Monday advised Indians to “make their way to the railway station for their advance in the western part. Ukraine is keeping special trains to remove the railway.” It called on all Indian citizens to be “patient, restrained and not to display aggressive behavior, especially at railway stations”. Evacuation flights are also open but what awaits education remains unanswered. “Our teachers are gone, we were alone in the hostel,” said a first-year medical student trying to cross the Polish border.

According to the university admission platform LeverageEdu, there are 19,000 Indian students in Ukraine. Indians have the largest number of international students, followed by students from Morocco and Turkmenistan. They mainly study for degrees in medicine, nursing and engineering. According to LeverageEdu, courses in Ukraine are much cheaper than in a private college in India. Tuition fees for MBBS degree in Ukraine 3Compared to 15-20 lakhs 380 lakh-1 crore in India.

Career counseling firms say students pursuing degrees in Russia also face an uncertain future. “One has to look at how many countries will take Russian degrees, the Russian ruble has sunk and the economic situation of the country will be a factor by those students,” said Ankit Magu, co-founder of the edtech platform Geekster.

Child rights activist Anubha Srivastava Sahai said, “If students can get their remaining degrees from Indian colleges, we will write to the central government.