Indian medical students who had returned from war-torn Ukraine will now be allowed to relocate to universities in other countries and complete their studies. Considering the special circumstances, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has agreed to recognise the academic mobility programme offered by Ukraine to allow such students to complete their education as the degree will be awarded by the parent Ukrainian university only.
According to the NMC Act, students studying in foreign medical colleges are required to complete their education and obtain a degree from a single university only. The public notice issued by NMC on Tuesday said the mobility program offered by Ukraine has been considered in the Commission in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs, wherein it was intimated that the academic mobility program is a temporary relocation to other universities in different countries globally.
However, the degree will be awarded by the parent Ukrainian university, the official notice from NMC read. "The Commission hereby conveys its no-objection for academic mobility programme in respect of Indian medical students who are studying in Ukraine provided that other criteria of Screening Test Regulations 2002 are fulfilled," the public notice said.
Many political parties in India, especially those in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had earlier urged the Union government to allow medical students returning from Ukraine to continue their education in Indian colleges. However, at the time, medical bodies had voiced concerns against the move. They had said that doing so would be unfair to candidates who qualified through NEET with better scores but couldn’t pursue a medical education, as well as students from China and the Philippines who have been unable to return to their universities for over two years due to the pandemic.