Aastha Thakur
Published on: September 17, 2022 at 23:44 IST
On Friday, the Supreme Court made the suggestion that the Union Government establish a website with information about foreign institutions where Indian medical students who have returned from the Ukraine could finish their coursework in accordance with the National Medical Commission-approved academic mobility programme.
Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia‘s bench made the suggestion that there should be a transparent mechanism and that the online site may provide information on the costs and the availability of seats at alternative, suitable overseas universities.
Tushar Mehta, the Solicitor General of India, claimed not to be taking a “adversarial stance” and asked for more time to seek instructions from the Union Government on the bench’s recommendations. As a result, the case has been postponed to the following Friday, September 23.
The court was considering a number of applications from students who had to leave Ukraine because of the conflict and pleaded to be allowed to finish their medical schooling in India. Although India cannot accept the 20,000–30,000 students, the government might utilise its resources to assist them in selecting the right international universities, the bench said orally.
The National Medical Commission Act does not contain a clause that would permit the transfer of Ukrainian returnee students to Indian medical institutions, according to a counter-affidavit submitted on September 13 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
At the beginning of the hearing, one attorney argued that the Union Government ought to recognise the 20,000 students who had returned from the Ukraine as “war victims” under the Geneva Convention and provide them with aid.
Hon’ble Justice Gupta orally stated that, “Please don’t take it to that level. You went voluntarily. You are not on battlefield”, before turning to the Solicitor General of India for the Government’s stance.
The students who were unable to finish their clinical training have been given permission to do it in India, and by utilising the diplomatic ties with Ukraine, it has been secured that they will receive their degrees, according to SG Tushar Mehta, who made the submission.
The SG then brought up the National Medical Commission’s decision to permit academic mobility for Ukrainian students in overseas universities, allowing them to finish their coursework at other foreign universities.
The SG also read out another circular and said that the Government of India has liasoned with some other countries. “Except these countries, other countries not compatible. Can’t insist others countries with our view”, the SG said.
The bench then inquired as to how the pupils may identify appropriate overseas colleges. A liaison person has been appointed; the SG retorted. The judges thought that only having one officer might not be enough.
The panel advised that the Union of India create a system that would allow students to select other overseas universities that are compatible.
Justice Gupta also opined that, “It’s better to have a transparent system. The Government of India has resources to find out which countries have so many seats. Give them options, transparent options. You develop a portal. Develop a transparent system.”
Salman Khurshid, a senior attorney, said that there can be problems with tuition and language; for instance, a student who previously attended a Ukrainian institution would find it challenging to fit in at a Polish university. There can also be problems with costs.
The sitting judge in reply told Khurshid to provide all the details regarding fees and number of seats in the web portal. However, its their look out to find a way out in order to complete their course.
Senior Advocate R Basant raised questions why can’t Indian universities can provide the facilities of accommodation of students like foreign universities. Over which Justice Gupta stated that the counsel has no right over Indian universities.
The petitioners have cited a report from the Lok Sabha Committee on External Affairs from August 3 in which it was suggested that the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare consider temporarily housing Ukrainian students who have returned in private medical schools in India.
The petitioners asked the Government of India and the National Medical Commission for the required action to be taken about Ukrainian students in light of the aforementioned suggestion.