In a recent development, a signature campaign was launched by the parents of students from Ahmedabad who have returned from the war-torn country Ukraine. The campaign demands accommodating these students in medical colleges in the country.
According to reports, the parents asked the state government to take a decision within a month as the universities are demanding fees for upcoming semesters. The parents had gathered under the Indo-Ukrainian Student Front Gujarat Chapter along with other parents from across states and sought public support.
Naina Parmar, a mother of a first-year student at Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU), said that the government should make a decision as soon as they can. If they fail to do so, then these parents will have to pay fees amounting to lakhs for the upcoming semester.
She further said that if the government wants, they can accommodate all affected Ukraine-returned students. As per their estimate, over 18,000 such students' future is at stake, and there are 605 medical colleges in the country.
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Parmar, who is also a state co-ordinator of the Indo-Ukrainian Student Front Gujarat Chapter told reporters that they have already put forward representations to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, Education Minister Jitu Vaghani, and Health Minister Rushikesh Patel.
Other parents were heard discussing that they are worried about their children's future. Another parent, Dr Rajesh Bhatt, whose son is in his fourth year at BSMU, said that initially, they thought that the war will end soon and will be able to send their children back to the country. However, the situation got worse. Several universities were destroyed and those remaining cannot operate.
There are around 1,100 Ukraine returned medical students in Gujarat, out of which at least 500 are from Ahmedabad and Surat each, while 150 are from Vadodara.
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Last month, Ukraine returnees along with their parents staged a pan-India protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, urging the government to let them complete their studies in the country. Over 500 MBBS students from Ukraine and their parents from 18 different states joined members of the Parents’ Association of Ukraine MBBS Students (PAUMS) at Jantar Mantar.
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Source: The Indian Express
