BENGALURU: Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday announced that the Karnataka government will accommodate around 700 Ukraine-returned medical students in 60 medical colleges across the state, and a high-level committee has been formed to look into their future.
The minister announced this after a meeting with the students at Vidhana Soudha on Monday. Clarifying that the students will not be officially absorbed into the colleges, Dr Sudhakar said this measure is aimed at ensuring that their learning and practice continues till a solution is found. No additional fee will be charged to the students, he said.
The high-level committee consists of the principal secretary of the Medical Education Department; director of medical education; the RGUHS Vice-Chancellor, registrar, and directors and deans of some medical colleges.
“The committee will look into all aspects concerning the academic future of the students and submit a report to the State Government. Based on the report, the government will request the National Medical Council (NMC) and the Union government to take necessary measures to protect the future of the students,” he said, adding that after the committee submits the report, all necessary requests will be submitted to the Union government, and the NMC will take a final decision.
During the meeting, the students shared their concerns with the minister, who assured them that the government will take the best possible decision within the existing legal and regulatory framework.
Meanwhile in Haveri, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the government plans to categorise medical colleges as A, B and C categories on the basis of the facilities extended by them.
“As the cost of management quota seats is pretty high, our students are looking at alternate proposals to study medicine and are flying abroad. We are considering a proposal to reduce the fees on the basis of the categories of the colleges. The Medical Council of India decides on the issues related to the medical courses and a reconsideration is on in this regard,” he said.