THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOCHI : Finally, here is some good news for the more than 22,000 medical students from India majority from Kerala who had to discontinue their studies abruptly following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Now, they can resume their studies in Russian universities, if they wish so. Russia’s deputy chief of mission to India Roman Babushkin announced this offer during an interaction with the media here on Sunday.
It has come as a huge relief to the students who were staring at a bleak future with the National Medical Council regulations denying them the opportunity to continue studies in India. The offer gives students an opportunity to resume studies in Russian universities that are on a par with the institutions they were studying in Ukraine.
Ratheesh C Nair, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation, Thiruvananthapuram, had on Thursday taken up the issue of medical students who had to return from Ukraine with Norka CEO Harish Namboodiri and principal secretary Suman Billa on Thursday.
After the initial round of talks, it was decided that the affected students can seek admission in various universities in Russia as the system is similar. Terming the plight of the medical students serious, Babushkin said they can approach the Russian Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
Students welcome Russia’s edu offer
“Some medical students might have studied in Ukraine on a stipend or scholarship. Those students can avail the same stipend/scholarship in Russian universities. Some might have been studying in Ukraine universities by paying a fee of $4,000.
But the average course fee in certain top-level universities in Russia would come to around $12,000. So, the students will be given admission in Russian universities that are on a par with those in Ukraine,” he said. These students will not lose a year, but there are chances of them losing a semester. Ratheesh Nair has urged these students in the state to approach him at the Russian House at Vanross Junction, Thiruvananthapuram, on an individual basis.
Welcoming Russia’s offer, K S Devanarayanan Namboothiri, a fourth-year MBBS student at Sumy State University, said: “Nearly 50% of the students might take this opportunity.” He, however, said: “In my case, I will take a decision only after discussing it with my friends and others.” According to Sharfas V V, a first-year MBBS student at Bogomolets National Medical University in Ukraine, said: “Though it’s a welcome offer, we will take a decision only after consultations. Since the National Medical Council has not done anything to help the medical students who have returned from war-torn Ukraine, we are forced to take any such offers that come our way.