New Delhi: The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Thursday that her government will accommodate students who came back from Ukraine leaving their studies because of the Russian invasion while blaming the central government for not doing anything even after two months.
Banerjee made the announcement during a press conference in Nabanna. She said that it is not possible for these students to spend a huge amount of money to get their education completed in another country now.
“Two months on, the Central government has not yet taken any responsibility for the students who have returned from Ukraine. They have just asked the students to go to Poland and Hungary for their studies. But we have chalked out an idea as it is not possible for the students to spend a huge amount again for their education in another foreign country. The Chief Secretary, education secretary, medical health secretary have all been part of the plan,” she said while speaking to the press.
As per the West Bengal government, a total of 422 people were brought back to the state from crisis-hit Ukraine. Of those, 412 are medical students, 409 are MBBS students and three are dental students. Of the rest, six are engineering students and one is a veterinary student. Three of the total 422 are labourers.
According to a report by news agency ANI, after a meeting between the state officials and the Ukraine-returned students on March 16, CVs and other documents of the students were collected and shared with the concerned departments. Based on this, the state government has planned how to accommodate the students without much loss.
The sixth-year students, a total of 23, will be allowed to undergo internships at government medical colleges as per norms. The fifth-year and fourth-year students, a total of 135, will be allowed to undergo ‘observing seats’ in different medical colleges in a distributed manner that makes it 15-20 students per college.
The 172 third-year and second-year students will be allowed to attend practical classes at different colleges.
And for first-year and second-year students, a total of 78, all those who are NEET qualified for the current year (2021) (i.e., a total of 69 students) have been allowed to appear for counselling immediately at private Medical Colleges against the management quota seats for fresh admission.
The colleges have also been requested to give a concession in the fees, Banerjee said.
Meanwhile, a press release by the secretariat said that the engineering students have been offered seats at private colleges under the JIS group. While two of them have joined, the others are in the joining process.
For the Dental students, one student who has completed his studies will be allowed to do his internship at the Government Dental College in Kolkata, while the remaining two students in the second year will be allowed to do observership and practical classes at the government dental colleges. Veterinary student, Aniket Banerjea has been provided admission at the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences in the ensuing session.