At a significant development, the central government informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the National Medical Commission Act forbade the accommodation of medical students returning from Ukraine in Indian colleges.
The government claims that any laxity will jeopardise the quality of medical education in India.
“Students went to foreign countries due to two reasons -poor merit in NEET and affordability. Allowing poor merit students in premier medical colleges in India can lead to other litigations. Also, they won’t be able to afford the fee structure,” the government said.
The affidavit was filed by the secretary of the Health Ministry while responding to a batch of petitions seeking relief for Indian students who had to abandon their medical courses in Ukraine midway.
The Center added that the National Medical Commission’s public announcement from September 6 is a no-objection allowing students who cannot finish their education due to the conflict in Ukraine to transfer to other universities abroad. This public notification, however, is not permitted to be used as a “backdoor entry in Indian colleges offering UG courses.”
The hearing was postponed till tomorrow by a panel of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia on Thursday after the Central Government’s attorney told the court that the Union Ministry has submitted an affidavit.
Thousands of Indian students studying MBBS in Ukraine had to abandon their studies and leave the war-torn country after Russia invaded in February. The Indian government organised special flights to evacuate over 22,000 Indians from Ukraine.
Some Ukrainian universities, which are in the worst-hit war zones, have asked foreign students to take up the “mobility” or transfer programs. The next semester in most varsities has begun from September 1.