Allow internship in TN med colleges: Ukraine returnees

CHENNAI: Around 200 medical students who had to return to Tamil Nadu from war-ravaged Ukraine staged a protest at Valluvar Kottam on Sunday, demanding that the government permit internship opportunities for them in government or private colleges/ hospitals in the State, the same way that other states like Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal have done.

The Ukraine MBBS Student’s Parents Association (UMSPA) has placed two major demands in front of both the State and Union governments. “Many of our friends in Kerala and Karnataka have begun working as interns or have been employed as observers under a senior doctor of government, private hospitals and medical colleges. However, it is disappointing to see that

TN has failed to do this,” said H Gopi Kumar, a second-year student at Kharkiv National Medical University.

In March, the Ministry of Public Health of Ukraine had written to the Indian government requesting respective countries to allow students to go through practical training in local, private or government hospitals. But, this wasn’t followed in TN, students have claimed.

“While our classmates in other states are either interning or gaining practical experience, students in Tamil Nadu face a bleak future. We request the State government to accommodate us in colleges and hospitals as per the course,” added Gopi Kumar.

UMSPA during the protest on Sunday said that out of 16,000 medical students, only 4,000 final year medical students have been allowed internships. They urge the Union government to address the plight of the remaining 12,000 students in a similar manner.

“There are 600 medical colleges in India, hence each college has to increase only 22 seats. The process of adjusting medical seats for student returnees in India or abroad should be done at the earliest,” said Gunasekaran, president of UMSPA.

Vanesh said that most students secured high marks in NEET but were forced to study abroad due to financial constraints.

“The Government should either transfer our course to another foreign country like Poland, Georgia or Hungary or should accommodate us in government colleges here. And in the case of providing seats in private colleges in India, the government should reduce the fees for us,” said Vanesh.

While these students are finding ways to complete their education, various universities in Ukraine have been forcing them to pay their semester fees in full. Gowtham, fourth-year medical student in Ukraine paid semester fees Rs 1.83 lakh just a week ago.

“If the fees are not paid, the university warned us that certificates will not be issued. We didn’t have a choice but to pay,” he said.