Mamata Banerjee writes PM Modi to accommodate Ukraine-returned students in Indian medical colleges
Mar 16, 2022
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 16 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's immediate intervention to facilitate the further studies of medical students who returned from war-torn Ukraine.
In her letter to PM Modi, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo provided suggestions to accommodate and allow Ukraine-returned students for internships in the government medical colleges and admission in private medical colleges of the country.
The chief minister said 391 students from West Bengal have returned from Ukraine and they are passing through severe stress and anxiety due to their uncertain future. She said all these students have invested considerable financial resources as well as time in pursuance of their dreams but they are now left in the lurch.
As per the current guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC), students who are eligible for the internship will be allowed to undergo the internship in government medical colleges of the state and they will be also paid the stipend at par with the other candidates.
"For other students in different years of the studies, they may be allowed to get admitted at the equivalent level in the private medical colleges against the existing seats and these medical colleges may be allowed to increase the equivalent number of seats for accommodating these students," she suggested.
"The present stipulations of the NMC mandate that only those students who qualify for the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET-UG) can only get admission into the medical colleges. Many of the students who have returned from Ukraine do not meet this requirement. It is requested that the relevant guidelines may be relaxed as a very special case to accommodate these students," opined the TMC supremo.
The chief minister informed that the private medical colleges in West Bengal have agreed to accommodate these students at state quota fees. The state government
"Sir, this is an unprecedented war situation which calls for an extraordinary solution. Hence, I request your kind urgent intervention. I also request that as students who have returned to other states are facing similar problems, the steps that may be taken by NMC be implemented for other states as well," urged Banerjee.
