After months of waiting, students affected by the war and the global pandemic have finally received a shred of good news. Issuing a notice on 6 September 2022, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced its approval of the academic mobility programme offered by Ukraine to students studying in its medical colleges.
In news reports, an NMC official affirmed that the move does not allow students to complete their medical studies in India. As per the NMC official, the approval has been offered to students who had been enrolled in Ukrainian medical institutes after the new regulations had been enforced in November 2021.
Reports revealed that the remaining students will be “free to continue their education in other countries under earlier regulations, which were ambiguous on such transfers.”
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The NMC Notice further revealed that students completing their studies at different medical colleges will receive the degree issued by the parent Ukrainian university. However, Ukraine-returned students will not be able to continue their studies in Indian medical colleges.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha in July this year, Minister of State Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar revealed that no provision had been provided in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and the National Medical Commission Act 2019, to accommodate the transfer of medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges.
In the notice, NMC stated that “the mobility programme offered by Ukraine has been considered in the Commission in consultation with Ministry of External Affairs, wherein it was intimated that the Academic Mobility Program is a temporary relocation to other universities in a different country globally.” Moreover, the degree will still be offered by the parent Ukrainian university.
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The notice also highlighted that it offers its “no-objection” for the academic mobility programme offered by Ukraine, provided the students fulfil the Screening Test Regulations 2002. In 2021, the Screening Test Regulations 2002 had been replaced by the Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021. These regulations outlined the course duration, subjects and maximum years to complete the course.
While the 2002 regulations did not specify any guidelines regarding barring transfers to universities in other countries, the updated 2021 regulations specified the requirements of the entire course, including training and internships, further stating that students should complete the same at the university they first enrolled in, outside of India.
With the approval notice sent out by NMC, students who had joined after November 2021, which included students starting their courses in September 2021 and January 2022 were now able to travel to other countries, excluding India, offering similar courses to complete their education.
Source: The Indian Express
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