Pralhad Joshi, a Union Minister, has made a controversial remark that “90% of Indians who study medicine abroad fail to pass qualifying exams in India.”
The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, on the other hand, stated that this is “not the ideal moment to question why students are moving out to study medical.”
To practise medicine in India, anyone with a medical degree from another country must pass the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE).
Pralhad Joshi’s statement comes as tens of thousands of Indian students remained stranded in Ukraine, which is currently involved in a terrible war with Russian invading soldiers.
Since the outbreak of the war between Ukraine and Russia on Thursday, videos from students desperate to move out of the country have flooded in.
Students can be heard pleading for help and claiming that they are not being allowed to board trains. They claim they are being forcefully thrown off trains and are being mistreated.
According to the students, they are being forced to wait for hours without food or water at the border, where many have arrived after walking miles in sub-zero temperatures.
One of the students, a 21-year-old Karnataka resident, died today in Kharkiv as a result of Russian shelling.
As opposition criticism of the government grew louder over what it called the government’s delayed evacuation pace, many on social media contended that the students were given timely warnings by the government but decided to ignore evacuation instructions.
Many made sarcastic remarks about “NIFT rejects” (those who failed the all-India medical entrance exam) studying in Ukraine.
Some people have claimed that India lacks sufficient medical seats to accommodate all deserving applicants. They also emphasized the country’s low doctor-to-patient ratio, claiming that the situation would have been even worse if foreign university graduates had not returned to practise.
The administration has stated that all attempts are being made to safely return the students to their homes.
According to sources today, evacuation is taking place in locations where movement is not threatened by the war. According to the authorities, more than 9000 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine, with a large number currently residing in safer places.
Also Read: Around 1400 Indians evacuated says Ministry of External Affairs