Ukrainian teachers take classes from bunkers

Tribune News Service

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, April 21

After weeks of Russian attacks halted classes throughout Ukraine, city students, who had returned from the war-torn country, have started attending online medical classes through Google classrooms.

While some teachers have been taking classes while hiding inside bomb shelters, others have evacuated to Poland or Germany. The classes continue till the time the siren sounds and when that happens, the lessons have to be discontinued.

Online tests being conducted too

Teachers are showing remarkable courage during war time. They are taking classes and conducting online tests also. However, when the sirens sound, they have to suspend the classes and hide in bunkers. — Malika Kohli, Parent of a student at Lviv Medical University

Anisha Gupta (23), a resident of Sector 19 and student of Kharkiv National Medical University, said the online classes were not being taken regularly as the classes were being taken by teachers while hiding in bunkers. “Only two or three classes are being taken in a week by our university teachers, who are in bunkers. The duration of the class is not long and lasts only 45 minutes. The MBBS course is nothing without practical assessment of patients. During our stay at the university, we were shown surgeries and there was a chance to interact with patients. There is no guarantee whether that will happen again.”

Simran Kaur, another Ukraine returnee and fifth-year student at Kharkiv National Medical University, said, “Even though teachers are trying hard, they have not been able to create an environment for classes. For two weeks, there has been no class. Teachers usually come and tell us to prepare on a topic and take tests. Sometimes, they apologise about the situation and say they are sorry. Sometimes when the network is good, they take classes from hospitals and at other times, they hide under the basement of hospitals.”

Kirpaljot Singh, who is pursuing fourth-year MBBS from VN Kazarin National University, says he started attending classes after a gap of almost a month. “Some of our teachers have migrated to Greece or Poland and are taking classes from there. The classes are being taken through Google classrooms. Teachers also mark the attendance of students during the classes. Asked about the situation in Ukraine, teachers say it may be possible to return by September. However, it seems unlikely.”

“Teachers are showing remarkable courage during war time. They are taking classes and conducting online tests also. However, when the sirens sound, they have to suspend the classes and hide in bunkers,” said Malika Kohli, whose daughter is enrolled with Lviv Medical University.

Parents, who have spent a huge amount on their child’s future, are spending anxious nights. Fatehdeep Singh, a city-based parent whose both children are pursuing medicine from Ukraine, said he had spent Rs. 45 lakh on their education. “The government is our only hope now,” he says.

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