On Sunday, students and parents who had been evacuated from war-torn Ukraine gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to ask the government for help in finding them places at Indian colleges. "Help all Indian MBBS students of Ukraine" and "Save the career of Indian students" were written on placards held by the students.
After Russian forces launched an offensive against Ukraine, tens of thousands of Indian students studying at various medical colleges in the nation were forced to quit their studies and return home.
Last month, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court asking for guidance on the issue of Indian medical students who were evacuated from Ukraine being admitted and continuing their studies in the country.
The petition also asked the Centre to give a medical subject equivalency orientation programme so that they may be admitted to the Indian curriculum. The Indian Medical Association has also urged that such students be accommodated at Indian medical institutes as a one-time gesture to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a letter to Prime Minister Modi on March 4, the IMA stated that such students should be allowed to complete their MBBS courses in Indian medical colleges through a "appropriate dispersed distribution," but that this should not be construed as an increase in annual admission capacity.