Rahul Gandhi, MP, has urged the Central government to accommodate medical students, who returned from Ukraine owing to the Russia-Ukraine war, in local medical colleges or to facilitate their transfer to medical colleges in other foreign countries.
In a letter to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Mr. Gandhi said during his recent visit to Wayanad, a delegation of medical students from the State, who were enrolled in medical colleges in Ukraine, briefed him regarding the lack of clarity about their eligibility to continue with their medical education in local institutions or their transfer to medical colleges in other countries.
The National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations, 2021 lay down the criteria for the grant of permanent registration to foreign medical graduates in the country, Mr. Gandhi said.
The conditions include completing a course leading to a foreign medical degree with a minimum duration of 54 months, and registration with a professional regulatory body competent to grant a licence to practice medicine in their respective jurisdiction.
However, given the nature of the ongoing conflict, it would be highly challenging for the students to return to Ukraine to complete their degree and fulfil the criteria laid down in the above mentioned regulations.
Thousands of Indian medical students pursuing their education in foreign colleges were affected by the pandemic, as well as the conflict in Ukraine. They had approached the Supreme Court to consider their unique situation.
The Supreme Court has directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to frame a one-time scheme before June 29, 2022, to allow students who have not actually completed clinical training to undergo clinical training in the country in the medical colleges identified by the Medical Council for a limited duration.
The court also directed the NMC to test the candidates in the above-mentioned scheme to satisfy that such students are sufficiently trained to be provisionally registered to complete internship for 12 months.
Several States have permitted returning students to join as observers in various government medical colleges, including in Karnataka and West Bengal. However, students’ future in the first and second years remains uncertain. Several news reports state that students in their first and second years will be required to take the NEET examination and have to re-start their MBBS degree.
Many of the students are first-generation learners and are enrolled in foreign medical colleges due to their quality education and competitive fees. The lack of clarity threatens their professional future . Hence, the government should consider the demands of the students on humanitarian grounds, and ensure that they are suitably accommodated in local medical colleges or are allowed to be transferred to medical colleges in other foreign jurisdictions, Mr. Gandhi said.
