The consortium of deemed-to-be universities of Karnataka has written to prime minister Narendra Modi that they would accommodate 1,000 students who have returned from war-hit Ukraine.

These students, however, will have to undergo a six-month long bridge course to be eligible to continue medical education in India, the consortium has proposed.

In eight of its deemed-to-be universities, the consortium is willing to accommodate 125 students (25 in each of the 5 years) who have returned should the National Medical Commission grant them permission.

Dr S Kumar, secretary of the consortium said that they had written a letter to the prime minister in this regard and that if the National Medical Commission approved, accommodations could be made.

“These students already have a NEET score. The government can conduct centralized counselling for these students who have returned as a one-off kind gesture considering the current situation and fix a reasonable fee. This will also avoid any direct entries based on college preferences,” he said.

These students, however, must undergo a bridge course to meet Indian education standards. “According to reports, the standards of Medical Education in Ukraine is low. We would be willing to offer them a bridge course and accommodate them rather than leave them in the lurch. If the NMC evaluates the programme in Ukraine and if they think it is low, instead of grouping them with Indian students resulting in a large gap in academics that many students might find difficult to cope with, a course of six months to bring them on par with Indian students is required.” Kumar said.

He assured that these deemed colleges had adequate infrastructure and skilled staff to be able to make the accommodation. 

Also read: Allow Ukraine returned medicos to continue education here: IMA