Hyderabad: Students from Telangana who had gone to Ukraine to study medicine, will now have their studies funded by the state government, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said in the aftermath of a huge debate over why Indian students go abroad to study medicine. Making the announcement in the state assembly today, Mr Rao said 740 students from the state were studying medicine in Ukraine and have now returned from the war-torn nation. "We will write to the Centre to say we will support them," Mr Rao said in his address.
The Central government recently evacuated 18,000-plus Indians from Ukraine. Most of them were students who had gone to study medicine, the cost of which is cheaper in the former Soviet republic.
The Russian invasion in February came as a huge shock to the students, who found themselves stranded without adequate food, water and in some cases, even shelter. A student from neighbouring Karnataka, Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagowdar, died in Russian shelling in Kharkiv.
Back home, a debate started on whether students need to go abroad.
While some argued that only students who fail to clear the medical entrance exams in India go abroad, others argued that India does not have enough medical seats to accommodate all deserving candidates.
The controversy sharpened after Union Minister Pralhad Joshi's comment that students study abroad "after failing to qualify" in competitive exams in India.
It drew a sharp response from the grieving father of Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagowdar, who drew attention to the high cost of studying medicine in India. His son, he said, was an intelligent student who had to go to Ukraine as he could not afford to study medicine in India.
"The donation is very high for those wanting to study medicine here. Intelligent students will go abroad to study, and they spend a lesser amount when compared to Karnataka. Here, a student will have to pay in crores to get a medical seat under quota," he said.