CHENNAI: Gowtham Hariharan’s joy knew no bounds when he landed in Chennai with his cat from war-torn Ukraine last week, but he’s now spending sleepless nights worrying about his future. Gowtham was to complete his MBBS in two months from Bogomolets National Medical University, in Kyiv, and return to India to write the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE). Clearing the exam would mean he could practice in India, and earn to repay his father’s loan. But the Ukraine-Russia war shattered his plans.
“My father took a loan of `20 lakh for my studies, and repaying it has become a cause of concern. My college said it would start online classes from March 14, but uncertainty prevails over the final exam, which was to be in May/June. I don’t know when I will get my final certificate,” said Hariharan.
“My father is currently calm and happy I am back home safe, but deep down I know my family is worried about my future and the loan,” he added. However, uncertainty over the final exam isn’t the only worry for students who returned from Ukraine. From next year, the Central government is set to replace FMGE with the National Exit Test (NExT), which is expected to be tougher, students said.
A senior government doctor concurred with this, saying, on condition of anonymity, that NExT will be tougher since FMGE mainly assesses theoretical knowledge, while NExT will be based on clinical questions and practical exams.
“I planned to complete my MBBS in June and write FMGE in December and clear it in my first attempt since clearing NExT would be very difficult for foreign students. But things have suddenly turned upside down,” said Shanu Das, a native of Ooty who returned from Ukraine last week.
Talks are on to accommodate students who returned from Ukraine in colleges abroad that have a similar syllabus or in private medical colleges in India, but students say the path won’t be easy. “Accommodating these students in another country will be tough as they have to adapt to a new course, all the more for final-year students,” said Shripriya, who was pursuing MBBS in Vinnytsia.
On Wednesday, State Health Minister Ma Subramanian launched a counselling service for students who returned from Ukraine, and said a decision on their next steps would be made once the Union government issues guidelines. These students had requested to be sent to countries such as Poland, which have syllabi similar to those in Ukraine.
Team to bring back Tamil students to return today
The 10-member special team of IAS officers and MPs formed to facilitate the evacuation of Tamil students stranded in Ukraine will return to Chennai on Saturday morning since all students who were willing to return to Tamil Nadu arrived by Friday. The team was to visit Ukraine’s neighbouring countries, but remained in New Delhi.