Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday that the government is considering measures to lower the cost of medical courses in the state and the National Medical Council (NMC) is also investigating, following the crisis in Ukraine, to help more students study here.
He also said the Center is considering alternative measures for medical students who have returned from war-torn Ukraine before completing their courses.
“The current cost of medical education is increasing. Despite the fact that the cost of government seats is low, it is increasing in the private sector. In some cases, students, who score 90-95 percent, are unable to take NEET exams, because the cost of management or NRI seats is also high, they opt for through media options (from studying in countries like Ukraine),” said Bommai.
He responded to a question about plans for policy changes to give students ample opportunity to study medicine in India itself, rather than going to countries like Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters here, he said: “The government has been discussing this to reduce the state fees that we plan for A, B and C categorization, but as the medical courses are overseen by the National Medical Council (NMC), they are also looking at it. The background of the Ukraine crisis is being considered.”
Asked whether the government is planning alternative arrangements for medical students who have returned from Ukraine since their education has been halted, the chief minister said the central government is considering it.
“The course there is different from here, when completing the course there, students have to take exams to practice here. First, second and third year students have all come back as they involve students from different states, the Center is thinking about,” he added.
Bommai spoke before a visit to the Chalageri village of Ranebennur taluk in Haveri district to pay his last respects to Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagaudar, a senior medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, who was killed in Russian shelling in Ukraine on March 1.
The Chief Minister had received Gyanagaudar’s remains earlier in the day at the airport in Bengaluru.
