GUWAHATI:
As many as 15,000 MBBS students who returned to India from war-torn Ukraine will, along with their parents, stage a protest in front of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and National Medical Commission (NMC) offices in New Delhi on July 5, to demand the Centre to accommodate the medical students in colleges in the country so that they can pursue their studies.
The students and parents have come together under the banner of ‘Parents Association of Ukraine MBBS Students India’ with members from 18 states, including Assam and Mizoram.
“We will gather at NMC office sector, Dwaraka at 10 am from where we will march to Swasthya Bhawan (MoHFW) office,” said Sonia Lumba, who will lead the protest.
Notably, 173 students from Assam had to return to the country due to the Russia-Ukraine war, but stayed away from the protest as it was organised on very short notice.
“The protest was organised on short notice. So, we will not be able to take part. Anyway, we have moral support for it,” said Deepak Joshi, secretary of Assam Ukraine Returnee Parents Association.
Urging the central government to accommodate the students in India, Joshi said that his daughter is a fifth-year student of National Medical University, and doing online classes now, however, the university will start offline classes from September.
“But the situation in Ukraine is not normal. How can we send our children to the country? We urge the government to accommodate the students in medical colleges within the country,” Joshi said.
Media coordinator of the association Amlanjyoti Adhyapak informed that they met Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati last month, wherein they were informed that the government needs NMC clearance for it.
“Our sincere request is that the Centre should help them to pursue their study in India,” Adhyapak said.
Earlier, based on a petition filed by an association, the Supreme Court had ordered the NMC to frame a scheme permitting students to complete clinical training in medical colleges in India.
The bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian was listening to an appeal of the NMC against a Madras High Court order asking it to allow students of a Chinese university to provisionally register in India. However, the apex court concluded that there was nothing wrong with denying the provisional registration.
“No doubt, the pandemic has thrown new challenges to the entire world including the students but granting provisional registration to complete an internship to a student who has not undergone clinical training would be compromising the health of the citizens of any country and the health infrastructure at large,” the bench has said.
The bench understood the plight of the Indian students who could not complete their clinical/practical training in universities abroad due to the Covid crisis and the Ukraine-Russia war.
“The NMC has sent a proposal to MoHFW based on a Supreme Court order. But the MoHFW has yet to make a final decision. If the NMC gives us a green signal we can allow the students who pass the final exam for internship for two years,” said Dr Anup Kumar Barman, Director of Medical Education (DME), Assam.
But the fate of the students belonging from 1st year to 4th year is still uncertain as it seems the government will not take their responsibilities.
“There are many newly built-up medical colleges in Assam where these students can be accommodated. Many state governments, including West Bengal, have assured to continue their study in their state-run medical colleges. Based on this positive response, we hope for a positive response from the Assam government,” Adhyapaka added.