NMC’s stand a blow to parents’ hope of admitting wards in India

MADURAI: Parents of students, who pursued medicine and returned to Tamil Nadu in the middle of their courses from war-ravaged Ukraine, face high degree of uncertainty as they find it challenging to make education provisions in India.

The government ruling out the possibility of admitting them in the medical colleges here, citing that there’s no permission yet from the National Medical Commission has come as a serious blow to the confidence of students and parents.

A dejected parent, whose daughter, a third year MBBS student at Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine, said his family instead of wasting time is looking for some foreign universities to keep alive her hope of becoming a doctor.

Further, the parent, who did not want to reveal his identity, said he relied much on the government on making special provisions to help continue their professional courses. But, as of now, there seems to be no other option, except to take his daughter abroad for completion of studies.

“When my daughter returned at the fag-end of her third academic year, she took online exams to complete half of the six-year MBBS course. But, did not want go further online as it will not keep classes lively and refresh her skills,” he said.

Their dreams of studying medicine in reputed universities recognised by the government in foreign country failed as they could hardly continue their professional education after return, parents told DT Next.

As for K Rajmohan from Kodaikanal, whose daughter, a returnee from National Medical University, Ukraine, was just about two months short of completing her course, managed to finish it through online. She’s undergoing training in Hyderabad to excel in Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

Delay in getting Provisional Eligibility Certificate in TN

But, on the other side, his elder daughter, who despite passing FMGE after completing her MBBS in 2021 from the same university in Ukraine, could not do compulsory rotating medical internship as she’s one of the seven fellow-students in Tamil Nadu still unable to get Provisional Eligibility Certificate (PEC) from Tamil Nadu Medical Council.

While several others from Delhi, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Odisha even after completing medical courses in Ukraine managed to obtain PECs from their medical councils of their states in India, the fate of students in Tamil Nadu is at stake as the wait for the certificate is not over yet.

To ensure provision of PEC at the earliest and for their bright future, the Foreign Medical Graduates Parents Association, Tamil Nadu Chapter, took the issue to the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ma Subramanian, he said.