Students returning from Ukraine stare at uncertain future

Gumla/Chatra: As many medical students from the state who were stranded in Ukraine have fled the war-torn country and began returning in the last few days, many are battling uncertainty over their future and aspirations of becoming doctors.
On Saturday, two students from Lohardaga came back to their native places. Till Friday, officials said over 80 students had returned from Ukraine since the outbreak of the war and many are in the process of returning to the state.
Urmila Kumar, a first-year medical student of the Dnipropetrovsk State Medical University, said, “While I am happy to be back home from the war zone, I don’t know what is in store for me in future.I am concerned about my career and I have no clear-cut answers.”
She said teachers of her university are trying to help the students online. “After our classes were stopped abruptly, online classes were conducted for a couple of days initially on the campus. As the situation worsened, the university said the online classes will be stopped till March 12. Our faculty members are in touch with us and are guiding us. We hope things improve soon so that we can go back to our classes.”
Kumar added, “I will have to think of other options like getting admission in medical universities in other countries like Germany or study in India to clear the NEET.”.
Sandeep Kumar, a 4th-year student of the Poltava State Medical University, said, “During our stay in Hungary before taking the flight to India, we were given an option to get ourselves transferred to medical universities in Hungary. I will think about it after two to three months depending on the situation.”
Chatra girl Astha Rai, a first-year medical student who returned to Delhi on Friday, demanded some alternative arrangements from the Centre so that medical students like her who returned from Ukraine can continue their studies here without a break.
A resident of Nagwa Mohalla, Rai’s father Ajay Rai is a government employee posted at the Chatra district collectorate. Her mother Rekha Kumari is a government teacher posted in Dobhi of Gaya in Bihar. Astha got admitted to the Vinntysiya National Pirogov Medical University last year. “The Centre must workout some alternative means to ensure that scores of medical students whose studies were paused because of the war are unaffected,” Rai said.