The annual fee for MBBS courses in Ukraine is Rs 4-5 lakh, three times lesser as compared to fee in Punjab medical colleges.
Ukraine Russia conflict: As many as 16,000 Indians are stranded in Ukraine as Russian forces carry out an unprecedented attack by land, air, and sea on the former Soviet republic. India has assured its citizens in Ukraine that all the efforts have been made to bring them back safely. Many students who had gone to Ukraine to pursue education in medicine are stuck amid the escalating military crisis. There are over 18,095 students stuck in Ukraine from India, according to the Ministry of Education and Science.
Jalandhar-based Dr Ashwani Sharma’s two children went to Ukraine in November last year to pursue a highly revered medical course—MBBS. He said like his children, there are thousands of students from India, including Punjab, pursuing MBBS in Ukraine who are now stuck and waiting to come home. His children are still stuck in Ukraine as they were to return home on February 26, but could not due to airspace closure.
An education consultant from Jalandhar told IE that there are so many students from Punjab who prefer completing their MBBS degree from Ukraine because there is no such competition as there is in India. “My children opted to pursue their MBBS course from Ukraine because they wanted to go abroad for higher studies,” he told IE. They were getting a seat here too, he added.
A girl student from Punjab’s Nawanshahr district, on the condition of anonymity, who is stuck in Ukraine told IE that several students from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are doing MBBS in Ukraine’s various colleges.
Why is Ukraine preferred for MBBS courses?
Dr Sharma told IE that MBBS degree in Ukraine is recognised all over including by Indian Medical Council, World Health Council, in Europe, UK etc. The fact that it is less expensive makes it a better deal.
“In India a student needs Rs 10 to 12 lakh annual fee for this four and half year course and one need to spend Rs around 50 lakh to complete the course in any private college because not every student can get admission in the government colleges where the fee is around Rs 2 lakh per annum,” another doctor, whose son is studying MBBS in Ukraine was quoted as saying in IE.
The annual fee for MBBS courses in Ukraine is Rs 4-5 lakh, three times lesser as compared to fee in Punjab medical colleges, a student from Jalandhar who is stuck in Kiev was quoted as saying. Additionally, there are only four government medical colleges in Punjab and remaining around half dozen are private where the fee as compared to government colleges is six times higher, a senior doctor at Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, in Punjab told IE.
Dr K K Talwar, Punjab government’s Health Advisor and former Director of PGI, Chandigarh, however feels that it was beyond his understanding why students go to Ukraine to pursue MBBS degrees when there are a sufficient number of medical seats available in Punjab or in India. “I pray that all students reach home safely,” he added.
Is admission easier in Ukraine for MBBS degrees?
The students who do not get admission in India Ukraine to take up their MBBS courses, Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences Faridkot, Raj Bahadur told IE. In India, candidates need to clear the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) with high percentile as the competition is stiff.
NEET is conducted for admission to undergraduate medical courses in government as well private colleges and the qualification plays a mandatory role in pursuing the same course abroad. To get admission in an MBBS course in Ukraine, students simply have to qualify NEET with hardly any criteria for a high score.
A student told IE that the number of students appearing in NEET is much higher than the seats available in the medical colleges and those who don’t get the seat there, opt for Ukraine which is cheaper too. Another student added that in Ukraine, just like India, there is extensive practical exposure offered to students and the degree is also globally recognised. The medical colleges in Ukraine are backed with good infrastructure too.
