It's a sea of emotions on display as Indian students returned home, each having a horror tale to tell of the Russian attack on Ukraine which completed its 8th day on Thursday. The palpable fear and agony began to recede as batches of Indian students made their homeward journey from Ukraine while a sense of uncertainty over careers loomed.
Against the backdrop of an intense war that is threatening to go the nuclear way, the uncertainty of colleges resuming education in Ukrainian war-torn cities runs high. Going by the scale of the Russian assault, especially in the two cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv, there is going to be colossal damage to institutes, buildings and other infrastructure. Moreover, the exodus of faculty would again mean that resumption may not be a possibility anytime soon, plus there could be a complete change under the Russian regime.
According to available data, there were 19,000 Indian students in Ukraine. Many of them were at different stages of their careers, some on the threshold of completing their six-year MBBS degree. It is heart-wrenching to abort studies and return with no vision of the future having invested so much time, money and effort in these Ukraine campuses.
For the Indian government, the Ukraine situation should be an eye-opener in terms of education. If we may recall, the 21-year-old Karnataka student Naveen who became India's first casualty in Ukraine had scored 97 per cent marks in Std 12 board exams only to realise that he cannot afford a medical seat in India. Many Indian students opt for medical study in Ukraine because the cost is nearly one-fourth in comparison to India. Also, students are enticed by the exposure, quality of education, excellent facilities and a license to practice abroad.
India, on the contrary, has a very rigid and competitive rank system based on NEET scores that qualifies a limited quota of students. Meritorious students like Naveen who fall out are bound to seek avenues elsewhere, and Ukraine becomes the top pick, which is why we see around 15,000-20,000 Indian students moving out in pursuit of their studies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently appealed to Indian students to avoid going to smaller nations that are in conflict zones for medical education and instead asked them to pursue their careers in India. It may be a reasonable appeal against the threat to life. But the fact that students are ready to risk their lives and still go amplifies the desperation in pursuing their medical careers. If we may recall, Modi once said, "education for each child should be the number one priority. Families should realise that houses and cars are much less important than a child's education". We hope India upholds these noble thoughts of the PM and becomes a facilitator for students caught in the Ukraine crossfire.
What the students currently need is a sense of reassurance. They need a sense of direction, and perhaps, the government has a huge role to play with another Operation like Operation Ganga, this one to salvage their sinking careers.
