After state govt, private medical colleges come forward to accommodate Ukraine-returned students

Rahul V Karad, managing trustee said that he will volunteer to accommodate some of these Ukraine-returned students in two medical colleges located at MIMER Talegaon and MIMSR Latur

PUNE Even as the state government is planning to allow the Ukraine-returned students to continue their education in medical colleges in Maharashtra, private colleges have now come forward expressing willingness to accommodate these students, one such being MIT college.

In Maharashtra, private colleges have now come forward expressing willingness to accommodate these students, one such being MIT college. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Rahul V Karad, managing trustee and executive president of MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, said, “The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has brought to the fore the much debatable but generally dormant issue of medical education in India. Following the Russian invasion of that country, thousands of Indian students studying medicine in various cities of Ukraine have left the country and their MBBS courses midway and consequently, their future education is now in jeopardy.”

Karad said that he will volunteer to accommodate some of these Ukraine-returned students in two medical colleges located at MIMER Talegaon and MIMSR Latur if the government of India grants special provisions and flexibility in the existing admission norms, including the intake of medical colleges. Karad urged the Centre to consider his proposal and hoped that if the government amended and made this special provision, many medical colleges in the country would be happy to volunteer for this cause and would offer lateral admissions to these students.

There are 1,000 to 2,000 students from Maharashtra studying medicine in Ukraine, which is facing an invasion from Russia. Many of these students now face a bleak future. Last week, minister for medical education Amit Deshmukh said that the government has asked the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) to contact the universities in Ukraine to check if Indian students can continue their medical education as exchange students in medical colleges in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has a total of 44 medical colleges that are run by the state government; civic bodies such as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC); private institutions; central institutions; and minority-run institutions. Between them, the 44 medical colleges in the state have a total of 6,750 seats for the MBBS course. A total 43 colleges also have 3,171 post-graduate seats. Apart from this, Maharashtra also has 10 deemed universities which offer medical education. Admissions to the medicine course in India are conducted based on scores secured in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET (UG).