Kharkiv varsity holds special convocation in New Delhi

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, August 30

In a surprise move, Kharkiv National Medical University with the help of Bobtrade Education Group, a Ukraine-based immigration consultant, organised a special convocation in Delhi to confer degrees on its final-year Indian students.

Students in a fix

• Indian medical students, who still have two or three years of their degree course remaining, are confused about their future
• They said recently an advisory from Ukrainian universities has asked Indian students to resume classes and return to campuses despite risks, or temporarily join online classes or enrol through varsities in other countries
• They said the National Medical Council has not agreed to the proposal to allow them to study in Indian medical colleges. Therefore, they are in a fix whether to go back or stop pursuing their degree courses

Oksana Vasylieva, Dean, Kharkiv National Medical University, who travelled from Ukraine to India, was the chief guest and conferred degrees on over 350 MBBS students from Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Punjab, Guajrat, Delhi and other states. The ceremony was held at Siri Fort Auditorium on Saturday.

It was for the first time, the university had organised a convocation outside Ukraine. Students from Punjab, who received their degrees, said they were sending regular mails to the university and their immigration consultants regarding when and where they would be receiving their degrees.

“We were uncertain till last month. Even when we were attending online classes, we were not sure if the university will issue us the degrees soon. However, the invitation for the convocation came as a surprise, and we heaved a sigh of relief,” said Jalandhar-based Milap Singh, who returned from Ukraine in the first week of March after spending nearly two weeks in his hostel bunker amid Ukraine-Russia war.

Milap said he was now preparing for the Medical Council of India’s screening test, scheduled in December.

Another student, Sajandeep Singh Kahlon, said of the 350 students who received their degrees, nearly 100 were from Punjab. “It was a proud moment for me and my family. I had never even in my dreams imagined that I will receive the degree this way in my own country,” he said.