Jaishankar meets student who returned from war-hit Ukraine, says ‘It will be beneficial if…’
Thousands of Indian students were evacuated from Ukraine under ‘Operation Ganga’ last year.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met a student who had returned from war-torn Ukraine. In a video shared by news agency ANI, the minister was speaking with the student along with his family.
“I met a student who returned from Ukraine. He wanted to go back and complete his studies there but the situation in Ukraine is not under control yet. It will be beneficial for the students if the exams are conducted in India. He said that they were always in touch with the Embassy and they supported them a lot during difficult times”, the minister told reporters.
Earlier this year, the Ukrainian government had informed India that the medical students who were evacuated due to the war will be able to appear for their final or qualification examination in India.
Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova had visited India in April, and the future of Indian students whose education in Ukraine had been hit due to the Russian invasion, figured in the high-level talks between the two countries.
“On the issue of Indian medical students, [Dzhaparova] mentioned that Ukraine will allow foreign medical students to take the Unified State Qualification Exam in their country of domicile,” the ministry of external affairs had said in a statement.
The Ukrainian minister had told Hindustan Times that 14,000 Indian students will benefit from the academic mobility initiative by the Zelensky government. Such students can join online classes and avail the option to appear for the final or qualification examination in India. Dzhaparova had also said that about 2,000 Indian students had returned to Ukraine and most of them were studying in medical universities in the western part of the country.
