Balwant Garg
Faridkot, July 23
Even four months after evacuation of thousands of medical students under the “Operation Ganga” from war-torn Ukraine, the fate of these pupils (800 from Punjab) hangs in balance.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) decision not to permit these students’ transfer or accommodate in any local medical institution has left them shell-shocked.
A Faridkot-based Ukraine returnee said: “After getting no response from the NMC, we approached the Supreme Court, which directed the former to frame necessary guidelines for accommodating the students by June 29.” She said now, the NMC has declined to accommodate us, thus leaving us in the lurch.
Another student from Moga said: “The affected medical students protested at NMC office in New Delhi last month. We urged the regulatory body to save our future, but to no avail.”
While NMC chairman Suresh Chandra did not respond to phone calls, sources in the NMC revealed that it was not possible to accommodate them as students who had scored higher marks in NEET, but failed to get admission due to lower rank in the merit list, would revolt against the decision.
Sources said the NMC was planning to allow the final-year students to complete their studies online and appear in the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) and undertake a two-year internship to practice medicine in the country.
While many first year MBBS students appeared for the NEET on July 17, the 2nd and 3rd year MBBS students were in a difficult situation.
Moreover, the students performed poorly in the FMGE-2022. Out of 21,525 MBBS students who had appeared for the FMGE, only 2,346 could clear the exam.
Future of Ukraine-returned students hangs in balance
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