Low MBBS fees attract Indian students to Ukraine

Ferozepur, March 1, 2022:  Caught in the crossfire of Russia’s attack on Ukraine are countless Indian students. Stuck in Ukraine amid an escalating military crisis, several had gone there to pursue an education in medicine. This has brought to focus the low MBBS course fees charged by the medical institutions in the war-torn nation.

In India, there are around 86,000 MBBS seats, and half of them are in private colleges.  In 2021, around 16 lac students appeared in the NEET exam while more this number, the students migrate to Ukraine every year for higher studies after Plus Two.

Amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, there is now uncertainty for a majority of students stuck in Ukraine, said to be 20,000, and only a few of them have been evacuated. Anxious parents are worried about their wards being stranded there and living in unhygienic conditions in bunkers, basements and left with limited food, and money.

Everyone is praying for the safe return of students at the earliest making an appeal to the government for help, who is trying its level best even by deputing the Ministers for coordination with the neighboring countries.

A study over the reason behind going to Ukraine for MBBS reveals that the Medical universities in Ukraine charge a fee of Rs30 lakh- Rs35 lakh for MBBS course as against Rs1 crore (including donation) charged in India.  The reason for this is simple and clear, private medical colleges in Russia and Ukraine are affordable as compared to colleges in India. Ukrainian and Russian medical colleges are even recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Most of the students, after completing Class 12, start preparing for the NEET examination.  But those who score average, opt for universities in Ukraine, being the majority of them are middle-class families and could not pay heavy donations and expenses of studying in Ukraine was comparatively less.

Stating the expensive reason for medical study in India said, Vijay Gupta, an educationist, a government school teacher said, the Indian government should seriously think about providing medical education to students which is accessible and affordable to the middle-class students also as students from high-class families can easily bear with any amount of fee. Instead of spending Rs.1 crore on an MBBS degree in India, the middle-class parents by paying Rs.25-30 lac for a degree in Ukraine, can easily marry their children also.  This is the main reason for the migration of Indian students to Ukraine, added Gupta.

After returning to India, these students need to give their Foreign Medical Graduates Exam (FMGE) to get a license to practice medicine in India as Indian medical graduates, and historically, their success rate has been quite high. After taking this exam, students can work in the state and central government or appear for UPSC and MPSC competitive exams or avail medical and non-medical opportunities in government as officers, said Dr.Rajiv Arora.

Rakesh Sharma, one of the parents said, Russia and Ukraine are very popular academic destinations among Indian medical students and affordable and degrees are very much valid not only in India but worldwide as the Indian Medical Council (MCI) too recognizes them, which help the students with better opportunities.