Ukraine crisis isn’t the only one on their minds

Mumbai: The otherwise bustling Khan household in Mumbra now remains quiet through the day as their youngest member attends online classes

Mumbai: The otherwise bustling Khan household in Mumbra now remains quiet through the day as their youngest member attends online classes. Twenty four-year-old Khan Naushad Abdul Rashid, a sixth year MBBS student from Sumi Medical University, Ukraine, has been spending a lot of his time on his computer screen trying to follow the practical classes being imparted online by his university teachers back in Kharkiv.

Ukraine crisis isn’t the only one on their minds

“The final year of medical education is supposed to be spent in a hospital, learning every detail in practical sessions from teachers and doctors. The war has forced my batch to learn practical lessons online, which does not help us,” said Naushad.

Five months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced foreign nationals — including over 18,000 students from India pursuing their higher education in the Eastern European country — to return home, many remain doubtful over what their future holds. Though most universities resumed online classes in mid-March, senior students are missing out on practical sessions especially for subjects like Gynaecology, Internal Medicine and Surgery, among others.

On July 29, the National Medical Commission (NMC) issued a circular stated that recently graduated Indian students pursuing medicine in foreign countries, and currently stuck in India either due to the Covid pandemic or the situation in Russia and Ukraine will be allowed to appear for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) this year. Once qualified, these students, however, will have to spend two years interning instead of one. According to many students, this would set them back by yet another year. With no NMC guidelines on transfers to other universities (abroad or in India), the futility of studying medicine online with little or no practical knowledge, has left many of these students feeling like they are in limbo. What’s more, most students took admissions to these Ukraine universities because of low fees; taking admission in any other college isn’t an affordable option for many.

HT spoke to five students from the state to see how they’re faring.

Iram Barbhuiya, 22, 1st year

Iram Barbhuiya is the first in her family to dream big. Her father, Sirajul Haque Barbhuiya who runs a small stone-selling business in Assam invested his life’s savings of ₹9 lakh to pay for her first year of medicine at Kharkiv Medical University, Ukraine. She reached Kharkhiv on February 24, just as the war began. Iram has been home for the past five months and is attending all lectures online.

“I completed my admissions process by February 23, and entered class as a first year MBBS student on February 24, only to be welcomed by sounds of bomb blasts and sirens in the vicinity of the campus. We were immediately evacuated and directed towards the bunkers where we spent nearly three days. It took two weeks of moving from one underground shelter to another after which I finally make my way back to India to my family,” said Iram, who lives in Mumbra with her parents and four younger siblings.

Iram faced stiff resistance from her extended family to leave the country, and study medicine. She is the first girl in her family to do so. “My father knew the investment is huge, but has always been supportive of my dream to become the first doctor in my family. However, after spending nearly ₹9 lakh on fees, I’m now stuck in my house attending online lectures, still unsure of when I will return to my classroom, and attend lectures in a real medical college like other students,” she said. The family was planning to apply for a loan to pay for her education for the next few years.

With her dreams now stalled, she has little clarity on what the future holds. “I have four younger siblings, and I want all of them to pursue their dreams. Hopefully this war will end soon and I will gain a degree in medicine in the future. More than the societal pressure, I want to prove to my parents that their support has been worth it,” she added.

Namira Shaikh, 21, 3rd year

Shehnaz Shaikh (42) was brought up in a household of minimum means, forcing her to drop out of school and focus on performing household chores. After marriage, it was on her insistence that her oldest daughter, Namira, studied medicine. Shaikh wanted nothing more than to give her daughters a better quality of life.

“My husband and I work very hard to ensure our children get to live a life that we ourselves never could afford to, and that includes pursuing education and careers of their choice. I sold my jewellery and took a loan for Namira’s medical education. But now our dreams remain unfulfilled,” Shaikh said. Her daughter Namira is a third year MBBS student of Sumi Medical University, Ukraine.

Residents of Santacruz, the family of five lives in a small room in a chawl. While Namira attends online classes for third year MBBS, her two younger siblings just cleared class 10 and 12 exams and are busy with their admissions. “The problem doesn’t just end with payment of fees, but there are other living expenses as well to take care of. My fear is that due to the war, once these students get back to college, everything will cost three times more. What will we do then? We are barely making ends meet here,” she said.

“My parents have sold jewellery and taken loans from relatives to pay for my education. I’m hoping everything will return to normal and we will all be called back for regular lectures. In the meantime, I’m trying to find jobs I can do online at night and attend lectures in the day so that the education of my younger siblings is not affected,” Namira said.

Dhrupti and Dhruv Thakkar

For 22-year old twins Dhrupti and Dhruv Thakkar, their MBBS degree is two years away. Both fifth year MBBS students of Ternopil National Medical University in Ukraine, neither wants a transfer or money back from their college. Instead, they are pleading with the government to let them complete the course in India itself. Adding to the students dilemma is the recent intimation from the Ternopil university, sent via mail about commencing with the academic year from September 1 onwards and the possibility of commencing 2022-23 semester offline for all foreign students.

“Neither of us wants a transfer to another foreign university, nor can our parents afford to raise more money to pay for fees elsewhere. I want to go back to my same university and come back with a degree in my hand,” said Dhrupti. Her fear is that any transfer will automatically mean more fees, and the curriculum might be completely new.

Residents of Ghansoli, the family has spent nearly ₹6 lakh each year on both siblings for the education as well as other expenses. After the completion of their six-year MBBS course, the twins plan to pursue their (compulsory) internship in India. “To make matters worse, the National Medical Commission (NMC) here does not recognise a medical degree pursued from two different universities. We have therefore approached the Supreme Court to get justice for students like us stuck in between,” she said.

Dhruv and Dhrupti are among the 300-odd students from Maharashtra who have sought relief from the Supreme Court through senior advocate Sidharth Luthra. Their 1000-page petition asks the top court to order the NMC to secure their future by allowing them to complete the remainder of their course in India itself.

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, a handful of medical universities in Ukraine have now started inviting their students back on campus. “We are both ready to return to our university, especially since we have already received intimation from my university that offline classes will commence starting August. While I am convinced, I’m having a tough time convincing my parents to let me go, as the situation in the rest of the country is not normal still,” said Dhrupti.

Avishkar Mulay, 22, 3rd year

Avishkar Mulay (22) is one of many Ukraine returnees waiting patiently to hear back from his university and find the first flight possible back to his college. Most Ukranian universities started online classes from mid-March, and while students have been attending online classes as well appeared for exams online, many are missing practical sessions.

“Our classes are being conducted online but the most important aspect of medical education is practical classes which we are missing,” said Mulay, a third-year MBBS student of Bukovinian State Medical University in Chernivtsi, west Ukraine. A resident of Pune, Mulay is currently enjoying his break between two semesters and his hope is that he will be back in his classroom before the start of the next semester.

“My parents are spending ₹6 lakh every year on my education and stay, and the fact that at present our fees is not even being utilised is a big problem. While there have been talks of students taking transfer to Indian colleges, there’s no clarity on who will pay the fees? One of the many reasons I chose to pursue my MBBS is Ukraine was because Indian universities are unaffordable,” said Mulay.

His hope now, is for the war to end, and for their parent university to welcome them back in Chernivtsi. “From what we have heard, the war didn’t affect the city our college is situated in, so bringing students back on campus should not be difficult. We are eagerly waiting to hear from our university,” he added.

(With inputs from Sameera Kapoor Munshi)