Scored 97% in PUC, but my son couldn't secure medical seat in state: Father of Karnataka boy killed in Ukraine

Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a native of Chalageri in Karnataka's Haveri district, died in shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv on Tuesday (March 1, 2022), leaving his friends, family and all of India heartbroken

Pic courtesy: ANI

Bengaluru: As Ukraine-Russia entered its sixth day, a tragic turn awaited India. A 21-year-old student originally from Karnataka was killed in Kharkiv shelling. The student was a native of Karnataka's Haveri district, a state government official said. "A student Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, a native of Chalageri in Haveri district, died in the shelling," Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority Commissioner Manoj Rajan. 

While politicians across party lines offered their condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Naveen's father. The PM offered his condolences and a video show's the deceased student's father acknowledging the call. Modi also chaired another high-level meeting to review the Ukraine crisis.

Naveen was studying to be a doctor. The MBBS programme in Ukraine lasts for six years, and being much more affordable in comparison to that in private medical colleges in India, it is a popular choice among Indian students. Apart from lower fees in private colleges and quality of education, Indian students choose Ukraine also because several famous medical schools don't take an entrance exam to provide a seat. Recently, Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi had also stated that about 90% of Indians who study medicine abroad fail to clear qualifying exams in India.

Naveen Shekharappa father said in this context, after his son's death, "Despite scoring 97% in PUC, my son could not secure a medical seat in the state. To get a medical seat, one has to give crores of rupees and students are getting same education abroad spending less money."

Despite scoring 97% in PUC, my son could not secure a medical seat in State. To get a medical seat one has to give crores of rupees&students are getting same education abroad spending less money, says father of Naveen Shekharappa, an Indian student who died in shelling in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/wXqArRW9eq — ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2022

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian colleges are even recognised by the World Health Council and the degrees are also valid in India as Indian Medical Council too recognises them. The Ukrainian medical degrees are also recognised by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, European Council of Medicine and General Medical Council of the United Kingdom, among others.