Bangladesh could be prime choice for Indian medical students returning from Ukraine

Bangladesh is among countries that could emerge as the venues of choice for Indian medical students -- forced out of their studies in Ukraine following Russian invasion.

However, the enthusiasm for neighbouring countries among Indian MBBS students, who returned home from Ukraine, needs to be tamped down as India's National Medical Commission (NMC) has already said that Indian medical graduates with incomplete internships due to situations beyond their control like Covid-19 or war can finish the same in India.

MBBS courses in Bangladesh is a big draw for students from the Jammu and Kashmir state of India, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

According to medical education admission portals like Leverage Edu, CollegeDekho, Edurizon, Edunom, Wonk and LilacBuds, parents of the students have already begun exploring options other than Ukraine for their wards to complete the medical courses.

Lambodar Rout, director at Edunom, said his firm has already started talks with parents of Indian students, who returned from Ukraine, for other countries including Bangladesh.

The cost of MBBS course in Ukraine, Russia and central Asian countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan is estimated around Rs 30-35 lakh, according to experts.

"With the conflict going on between Ukraine and Russia, we think that countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Germany, Spain and Italy will see an increase in demand," said Tarun Aggarwal, chief business officer and head of Study Abroad at CollegeDekho portal told The Economic Times.

MBBS in Bangladesh and Nepal costs a tad higher at around Rs 40-50 lakh for the entire duration while it is Rs 55-60 lakh in Spain, Italy and Germany, according to Aggarwal.

According to Akshay Chaturvedi, founder of Leverage Edu, MBBS courses in Bangladesh have always ranked on the lower end of the Top 10 countries to study for Indian students. But the Ukraine crisis has changed the scene and "we are looking at Bangladesh and Nepal as alternative countries".

Experts said one advantage of studying medicine in Bangladesh and Nepal is that Indian students get an exposure to studying diseases and treatment methods which are similar to those in India.