Different strokes

Different strokes

Apart from Ukraine, Indian medical students in other nations are also facing a serious dilemma.

It is not just the future of 20,000-odd Indian medical students from Ukraine that is at stake. They had to be brought back to India because of the Russian invasion that made their life insecure. There are thousands more such medical students from countries like China and a few Far East countries who are in the same boat, battling the same storm. In their case, they came back to India in 2020 just as the global lockdown was coming into force and have not been able to return to date. Of the 23,000 students enrolled in Chinese universities at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, 18,000 were medical students. The pandemic restrictions have been lifted in most Asian countries as of date, but not in China. The Chinese Government, which banned return visas for international students, is unable to say when its borders will reopen to foreign students. The Indian embassy in Beijing has sought clarifications from the Government but in vain. Curiously, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who visited China recently, announced that “China will arrange for Pakistani students to return to China”. Mongolia and Singapore have received similar assurances. Sri Lanka too has requested China to allow its medical students to return. Some Chinese universities are conducting online classes, but the students’ worry is they do not have any practical experience. Practical training is indispensable in medical education. If they continue to attend only online classes, they will no longer be able to acquire clinical skills. Even online classes have stopped since last year for many students.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) last week issued a notice cautioning students about applying to Chinese universities, given the visa ban. It also said it does not recognise or approve medical courses done only by online mode. Then what happens to the students who are unable to return to China? Seeing the Commission trying to make some arrangements for the students from Ukraine, the students from Chinese universities are also writing to the Union Health Ministry and the Commission about their plight. They certainly have a case. They have been home since 2020 with no alternative in sight while the Government has already taken up the case of the students from Ukraine. Some of the final year students from China are trying to get practical experience by unofficially working in private clinics. But that does not help them get their degrees or NMC registration in India. Arranging for the 40,000-odd students in Indian medical colleges is impossible; that is nearly half the total seats available. The final-year students cannot do internships in India, even though the NMC has allowed it now because they have to first pass the eligibility exam, which is too difficult for most to clear. Forced to go abroad because of limited seats and expensive education in India, these students now face a dark future unless the Government takes the initiative to find them a reprieve.