Plea in Supreme Court to accommodate Ukraine returnee medical students in Indian institutions

NEW DELHI: A section of the Ukraine returnee Indian medical students due to the Russia-Ukraine war have filed a plea in the Supreme Court to facilitate their accommodation in Indian medical colleges. According to the plea, the future of as many as 14,000 Indian medical students who returned from Ukraine has become uncertain due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The medical students filed the petition through Advocate Ashwarya Sinha. The petition sought a one-time resolution to enable the migration of these students to Indian medical colleges in the equivalent academic year, and to issue directions to frame guidelines for the same. It also seeks infrastructural, academic, and financial support for the continuation of studies for these students.

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The petition further highlighted the ignorance from the side of the National Medical Commission (NMC) and others despite several representations made by them to enable the inclusion of Ukraine evacuated Indian medical students to Indian medical institutions. It pointed out the measures taken by countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt for accommodating the evacuated students in the medical institutions of their respective countries.

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The petition referred to the Supreme Court order in the "Farzana Batool Vs. Union Of India & Ors" case, where the court observed that the state is obliged to facilitate access to education at all levels.