No assurance from Govt yet to the 18000 medical students evacuated from Ukraine

18000 Medical students, who were evacuated from war-torn Ukraine by the Indian Government under Operation Ganga are holding a five-day hunger strike in Delhi demanding admission to Indian medical colleges. To save their bleak future aggrieved students have requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in and take immediate measures.

The protest started at Ramlila ground on July 23 and will continue till July 27, the students were joined by their concerned parents.  A student at the protest, “Indian Govt has brought us here but they are still not accommodating us after promising. We request PM Modi to do something for us as we have high hopes from him.” NDTV reported.

The Parents Association of Ukraine MBBS Students (PAUMS), in a statement, said that it has held multiple protests and also written a letter to Prime Minister’s Office but in vain. Last month, many medical students sat on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in Delhi demanding admissions to the country’s medical colleges. They had also submitted our demand-cum-request letter to PMO, health ministry, education ministry, NMC, and President of India but no response came to date.

As the students claim, there are almost 12,000 students ( excluding those in the final year), who can be accommodated in the  600 medical colleges in the country with each institution arranging around 20 students.

In March, public interest litigation was also filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions on the issue of admission and continuation of their studies in India.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also urged PM Modi to accommodate the distressed medical students in Indian medical colleges for the remainder of their MBBS courses through an appropriate disbursed distribution.

In a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said the National Medical Council has not permitted to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute or university.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also urged PM Modi to give necessary directions to the concerned authorities and ministries to make necessary amendments in the relevant Central acts for allowing Ukraine-returned medical students.

Slamming the Modi govt for not helping them West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announced in April that the WB government has decided to give admissions to these Ukraine-returned medical students. Nearly 400 medical students will be accommodated in Bengal’s colleges.