Nitish surprised by large presence of Indian students in Ukraine

PATNA: Amid the conflict in Ukraine, the large number of Indian medical students in that far-off country, now seeking evacuation, has come as a surprise, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here on Thursday.

The issue of Indian students came up on the fourth day of the budget session of the Bihar legislature on Thursday.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed his surprise over a large number of Indian students aspiring medical studies leaving India for Ukraine and other countries. “We were not aware that such a large number of students from different states of the country, including Bihar, were going abroad every year to pursue medical courses until the Ukraine crisis came to light,” he said.

Reply to a question in the House, Nitish said, “It's because of the social media that we knew the truth. The government at the centre should think over the exodus of medical students from India to abroad.”

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He, however, clarified that the issue assumed national significance as it was not confined to one or two states only. “The number of students from affluent states is stated to be more. Bihar is a poor state,” he added.

Nitish was responding to a question raised by a JD-U lawmaker Sunil Kumar, requesting the state government to rationalize the exorbitant fees charged from medical students by some private medical colleges in the state.

The chief minister said the students were enrolled in both government and private medical colleges in India on the basis of a national-level entrance test. “But in abroad, they don't have to appear at any test for admission,” he added.

The students from all over the state, including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Gopalganj, Siwan, Vaishali, Munger, Gaya, Nawada, Saran, Sheikhpura, East Champaran and Samastipur were enrolled in Ukraine based medical universities.

Over 96 students from Bihar have already reached their homes safely. A student Abhishek Kumar said, “We are now concerned about our studies. We are in the dark about whether online classes will be started till the crisis ends in Ukraine. We have not been able to contact our university officials.”