Parents of medical students in Ukraine worried

Sanjay Yadav

Gurugram, February 17

With tension between Ukraine and Russia rising, families of students studying medicine in Ukraine are worried.

Pupils in a fix

Our university is not in favour of online classes and has told us that we will have to cover up our missed classes. It has left many students in a fix. Ipsita Khandelwal, Medical Student in Ukraine

Parents across Gurugram and Faridabad have appealed to the government to arrange immediate evacuation of their wards.

Parents say they are getting distress calls from their children, but are unable to book tickets for them to come back to the country, with many institutions running out of food stock.

“I have been trying to arrange a flight for my daughter, but have been unable to do so. She has told me that her institution is running low on food supply and her professors have also advised them to leave the country,” said Narender Pawar, a resident of Jyoti Park Colony.

Pawar’s daughter Yashika is a medical student at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University. She is in her fourth year.

Parents of another student, Ipsita Khandelwal, are also worried about her safety.

“My daughter is very scared and so are her other 15 Indian friends in the university. We have been trying to book tickets for them even at double rates, but cannot get a flight. We just want our daughter back,” her mother Sunaina Khandelwal said.

Ipsita is student at Kharkiv National Medical University.

She said: “The university is not in favour of online classes and have told us that we will have to cover up our missed classes. It has left many students in a fix.”

“Both my children are studying medicine in Ukraine. Their universe is 2,000 km from the border, so the situation is still better there, but still they are blocking tickets,” said Mansoor Khan, a resident of Faridabad.

Over 20,000 Indians are presently in Ukraine, of which 18,000 are students.

According to the website of the Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, 24 per cent of overseas students in the country are from India.

While states such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have prepared a list of students to evacuate and are coordinating with the Centre, Haryana is yet to start the process.

Every year, thousands of students go to Ukraine for higher education. Of them, 80 per cent are pursuing medical, dental and nursing courses.

“There are limited medical seats in India and the competition is also tough. Ukraine is lucrative for families who have to make their children doctors. Majority students are children of doctors who have legacy clinics or hospitals to run,” said Renuka Tuteja, an international education counsellor.