- The Russian invasion of Ukraine has hit the international headlines highlighting the plight of civilians and others, including scores of students from different countries. All of them are finding it extremely cumbersome to stay afloat. As the supplies run dry owing to several challenges emanating from dissimilar quarters, survival has assumed paramount importance for every stakeholder. Hopefully, the resumption of diplomatic dialogues between Russia and Ukraine should help in reducing the rising tensions. This welcome news comes after Russian strongman Vladimir Putin issued threats of keeping the dreaded nuclear arsenal on high alert.
PC: Matt Payton
- The Union Government has so far made the right noises and choices surrounding the invasion. Of course, the priority has to be to evacuate the stranded citizens from the war zone. As a step towards realizing the same, the Union Government announced that four of its ministers viz. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hardeep Puri, Kiren Rijiju, and VK Singh will travel to countries on the western border of Ukraine to enhance the coordination mechanism in place to evacuate Indian nationals trapped in the war zone. Currently, the Government of India’s efforts is focused on using border crossings between Ukraine and its neighbors, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Moldova to evacuate Indians.
- Subsequently, they are scheduled to be airlifted from these countries. For the uninitiated, some interesting facts on the students pursuing medicine would be an eye-opener of sorts The foreign ministry assessment shows that 20.000 Indians, including students, were in Ukraine. Following GOI advisories as the geopolitical situation worsened, around 4,000 nationals left Ukraine. Codenamed Operation Ganga, 1,156 people have been flown back to India. Indeed, it’s a good step for the Government to organize the evacuation at its own cost. Of course, the primary constraint now is evacuating Indians out of the war zone as there’s no paucity of flights to bring them back.
PC: Hindustantimes.com
- Also, the foreign ministry has dispatched officers with knowledge of the Russian language to Kyiv. Further, the Ukrainian authorities have been informed to ensure no Indian national is harmed on account of the sovereign choices India exercised at the UN. Remember, there’s been some misguided criticism at home of the students staying on till the invasion began. Note that students pursuing medicine in Ukraine are there only because it’s a cheaper option than private Indian medical colleges coming from families with modest resources. Against this backdrop, the four handpicked ministers are expected to smoothen the process to ensure the stranded students and others are safely evacuated.
- The moot point to ponder over here is why thousands of students choose overseas destinations to pursue higher education. Make no mistake, it only mirrors serious problems afflicting the Indian education system. It also shows glaring failures in the Indian education system that Ukraine, a country with a per capita GDP about two times that of India, can offer more affordable training in medicine. Thus, the situation should serve as a wake-up call to both central and state governments which oversee higher education. If they can get their act together in this sphere, many Indian families will be spared the agony and the expense that comes with having to organise finances to send their children overseas to realize their aspirations.
