Maharashtra Govt contemplates allowing Ukraine returnees to appear for NEET

Mumbai: The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) is ready to provide online education to medical students returning from war-hit Ukraine and some of them may also be allowed to appear for the NEET, officials said on Wednesday.

Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh held a meeting here on how these students, left in the lurch due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, can be assisted, they added.

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The meeting was attended by Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant, vice chancellor of MUHS Lt Gen (Retd) Madhuri Kanitkar and Shiv Sena Member of Legislative Council Manisha Kayande.

“The MUHS has expressed willingness to conduct medical courses for Ukraine-returned students as they have discontinued their education due to Russia's invasion. These wound be online courses," Kayande later told reporters.

“It would cover some parts of the course which the students would have missed. We are also offering some other alternatives to the students and all possibilities are being assessed,” she said.

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Those who had taken admission to medical colleges in Ukraine only in November 2021 or later may also be allowed to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance (NEET), the entrance exam for medical courses in India, said an official who was present at the meeting.

"The proposal is at a nascent stage and we all are working on it," he added. Of 18,000 Indian students who were studying in Ukraine, around 2,000 belonged to Maharashtra, the official said.