KOLLAM: The delay in releasing transcript certificates from Ukranian universities has put the Indian students pursuing medical courses in Georgia through a transfer programme in distress.
Though the Ukrainian government, in wake of the war, established a mobility and transfer programme for Indian medicos to continue their education in other European countries, many varsities, including the Kharkiv National Medical University, are yet to distribute the mark sheets and transcript certificates to students.
The educational agents earlier informed the students that they needed to submit the transcript certificate only after joining the class. However, many universities in Georgia have insisted on producing the same at the time of admission itself, putting the future of thousands of students in a dilemma.
“We arrived in Georgia on January 28 and enrolled at Alte University. At first, our agent told us that every admission procedure has been completed and we only needed to submit the transcript certificate after joining the class. However, when we arrived at the institution, the authorities informed us that they required a transcript certificate; otherwise, we would not be permitted to attend classes,” Sandra, a final-year medical student told TNIE.
The medicos are worried about losing an entire academic year if they fail to submit the certificates before Monday.
"The new semester begins on March 20. We would lose the entire year if we are unable to submit the transcript certificate before the classes start. According to the agents, everything will be resolved as soon as possible. However, we do not see any significant progress,” said Lakshmi, a final-year medical student at Alte University.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Riyas of Make Education Private Limited, Kollam, who assisted the students in gaining admission to Alte University, has alleged ‘BobTrade Education Group,’ an agency based in Ukraine and India, of interfering with the university’s release of certificates.
“Despite the students, MPs, and our office sending several emails to the Indian Embassy in Ukraine, the university, and the Indian ambassador’s office, no action has been taken to resolve the issue yet. BobTrade has a big influence on Ukrainian medical universities, and we suspect the firm has put pressure on the varsities to hold the certificates so that they could earn a good sum as commission,” Mohammed Riyas told TNIE.
Shajas Shahal, another agent of Make Education Private Limited, said he had a discussion with the dean of Kharkiv National Medical University and was told to contact the BobTrade group for releasing the transcript certificates.
"When I visited the Indian Embassy in Ukraine, an official told me that their ability to exert pressure on the university is limited. Ukraine’s health minister will meet with the university officials soon. Only after that meeting can we expect some outcomes,” he said.
The mobility program enables Indian medical students to apply for temporary admission at universities in Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Hungary to continue their studies. The student, however, must return to the parent university in Ukraine after the war comes to an end, under the mobility programme agreement.