In what could be the first of its kind arrangement, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Modi regarding the imminent uncertainty over the future of medical students returning from the war-torn country of Ukraine.

While the future of these MBBS students looks bleak as of now, IMA was quick to come to their respite. In its letter to the PM, the association proposed about carrying out a one-time arrangement which is routinely carried out in case of a closure of an ongoing medical institute in India where the already enrolled students are disbursed to other medical institutes in a structured manner.

In its statement IMA mentioned that the number of such students is substantial and since they are at different levels of obtaining their degree, the eligibility certificate issued by the National Medical Commission or the erstwhile Medical Council of India can come in handy. This certificate is ideally required by any Indian student who wishes to join foreign medical schools. Further as per IMA, the students will also need to furnish the validation of certification by the competent authorities of the medical schools that they were originally a part of in Ukraine so as to check their level of education and progression in accordance with the standard of Indian medical schools in order to grant them admission in a particular year.

Earlier in 2014, some 600 odd students enrolled in Crimean Universities had to suffer a similar fate when the Russian invasion of that time left them with no choice but to either get transferred to another Ukrainian varsity or stay put.

While the number of affected students this time is much more ranging from 17,000-20,000, the IMA has recommended a 5% increase of medical seats on humanitarian grounds as a temporary solution for accommodating these students. The association is also slated to meet the Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya regarding the issue soon. Earlier at the beginning of invasion also, IMA had written a letter to PMO on the plight of medical students stranded in Ukraine requesting to support these students financially as well as for their speedy evacuation.