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One year of Ukraine war: Rescued, but not yet recovered, Chandigarh students count their losses
After thousands of Indian students were evacuated from Ukraine last year, the National Medical Council (NMC) allowed them to complete their medical education in other countries
Having spent months awaiting the National Medical Council’s (NMC) call on transfers was the most excruciating part for Sargam Singh, a medical student from Chandigarh, who was evacuated from Ukraine last year.
A year after Russia set off its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Sargam and her ilk recall the tumultuous time that they spent in the country. Pursuing medicine in Uzbekistan now, she details her ordeal, “We were uncertain and had to wait for at least six months to just know what step to take next.” She is now running behind a semester now.
After thousands of Indian students were evacuated from Ukraine last year as part of Operation Ganga — the evacuation mission carried out by the Indian government to rescue its citizens stranded in neighbouring countries — the National Medical Council (NMC) allowed them to complete their medical education in other countries.
“Our parents had to spend more money on visas, their extensions, police verification and other requirements for admission at new universities. The environment here is completely different and the cost of living is higher compared to Ukraine,” Sargam says.
Students explore other avenues
While Sargam and a few others have transferred to other countries, some students continue their education online. A section had even decided to take admissions in the home country.
Malika Kohli, a city resident whose daughter had returned from Ukraine in March last year, said they turned to a private university in Haryana. “My daughter was in her first year. We waited till September for the situation to improve, but then we thought it is better not to waste more time,” she says, ruing both the loss of money and time.
Charvi, a second-year MBBS student at Poltava State Medical University, 142 km from Kharkiv, meanwhile, continues to attend her classes remotely. She hopes to be allowed to transfer the degree: “Our seniors are allowed to take migration and transfer and many have done that but we are not allowed. We will wait till June for the next step.”
Some Indian students have also gone back to war-torn Ukraine to resume their degrees. Sadhav Gambhir, a Chandigarh resident pursuing MBBS at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, said, “It has been more than a month since I came back to Ukraine. Things are relatively normal in my city. I came to Poland from a flight and then to Ukraine via bus.”
There have also been cases where students had to drop out altogether.
Prabhjot, a resident of Ambala City and fourth-year medical student who also returned to Ivano-Frankivsk last month, said a lack of timely arrangement for education in India, most of his juniors had to drop the course in between.
His senior from the same university, Prashant adds, “After attending classes remotely for months, the offline classes for Ukrainians started in September. We were given the choice, but due to the rules by Indian medical authorities, many decided to shift back and I joined the offline classes last month. We are relatively at a safer place, but most of my friends had to suffer and seek transfer.”
But Sandaldeep, a fourth-year medical student from Ambala’s Mandhour village, was among the unlucky ones.
Her father Daljit Singh, a BEMS practitioner, said the family faced months of uncertainty. He was reluctant to send her daughter back to Kharkiv National Medical University, so they decided to transfer her education to Georgia even as the costs were significantly higher. “My daughter was in contact with her fellow friends and after waiting for months, they decided to shift to Georgia or Uzbekistan. My daughter moved to Georgia on November 15, which is nearly twice as expensive as Ukraine,” he says.
Bleak prospects
Despite their disparate choices, students remain united in ruing their losses and voicing their displeasure over NMC regulations, rendering invalid degrees of students who were admitted after November 2021 and continue to study online. Most can neither seek transfers nor continue online and are left with the daunting prospect of starting their degrees afresh.
Last year, Sadhav had walked around 10 kilometres to reach the Ukraine-Romania border and crossed over to safety. He and several others were rescued, but recovery continues to be a long and often tiresome road.
