Returning back to China may cost over Rs 3 lakh, say Indian medical students

After the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced returning of lsquosomersquo Indian medical students to China on April 29 to attend the offline lectures the students are now worried about the expense and the criterion of what basis lsquosomersquo students will be selectedWhile the onepage Google form on the Indian Embassy in Beijing website has asked basic questions to the students it does not highlight any details or important questions through which the students can know the basis on which lsquosomersquo students will be given a chance to return to China after two years to attend inclass lecturesApart from the selection process the expenses to return to the country to continue their studies which they have learnt through their friends from other countries have left the Indian medical students in a dilemmaldquoAfter spending around Rs 45 lakh each year to complete five years of the medical course we now have to shell out around Rs 3 Rs 5 lakh to buy a flight ticket and hotel quarantine expensesrdquo says Shahnawaz Khan a fifthyear medical student from the Anhui UniversityAnxiety over the selection process and expensesOver 20000 Indian medical students who were earlier studying in China are stuck in India for the past two years after the Covid19 pandemic broke out in the neighbouring country in December 2019 While they are now filling up the Google form provided by the Indian embassy the students and parents have unanswered questions about the expense and the selection criterionldquoDuring the announcement the ministry did not mention on what basis will they select some students If they choose fifthyear students as they will be graduating with a provisional degree in June this year it does not make sense for me to spend over Rs 3 lakh to return to China for a month They are not providing us with any quarantine facilities in the hostel A few of my friends from other countries such as Russia who travelled back to China were asked to be quarantined in a 5star hotelrdquo says Khan who lives in New DelhiHe adds ldquoSpending over Rs 3 lakh just to book a flight ticket and to quarantine in a 5star hotel is akin to paying a fee for a year After getting a provisional degree I will still have to come back to India to complete a oneyear medical internship in order to get a degree certificaterdquoShubham Gupta who hails from Madhya Pradeshrsquos Khargone is a fourthyear student at Hubei University of Medicine says We have to fill up basic details in the form such as name university name graduating year passport details and if we can bear our own expenses related to flight tickets charter flight ticket if required and hotel quarantine There is no more information from the embassy or governmentldquoA few of my friends from other countries who returned to China recently shared their expense details with me Personally I can afford around Rs 115 lakh but not everyone can afford to spend over Rs 3 lakh to travel to China Many students and parents have raised this issue with the Indian medical students grouprdquo says Akshra Singh a thirdyear medical student from Harbin Medical UniversityThe students from India admitted to the Chinese universities have been attending online lectures for the past two years without any clinical practice while those from Pakistan Thailand Sri Lanka Russia have been permitted to return to China to attend offline classesIn a statement the Indian Embassy in Beijing said The Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students on a needassessed basis To facilitate this return the Indian Embassy intends to prepare a list of such students which will be shared with the Chinese side for consideration Therefore Indian students are requested to provide the necessary information by filling up the Google form latest by May 8rdquoldquoWe are waiting for the deadline to complete Soon we will be reaching out to universities to arrange quarantine facilities in our hostels if possible so that it will be a pocketfriendly expense for the studentsrdquo adds KhanStudents complain about the circulation of fake Google formWhile the Google form shared by the embassy does not have any logo or authenticity mark a few students found out fake Google forms were circulated among the studentsMumbaibased Rachita Kurmi 21 a thirdyear medical student from Shandong University took up this issue by writing to the embassy Besides the difference between the questions and a change in font the form looks exactly the same says the member of the students bodyThank you so much EOIBeijing for replying to our email so quickly and for taking such prompt action against such false informationWe hope to hear some positive news soon regarding the return of Indian Students to ChinaChinaFmgsWantExactDatetakeUsBackToChina httpstcolFb6dDImTl pictwittercomgZeiHlYPwhmdash Indian Students in China IndianChina May 6 2022The Indian embassy in Beijing took note of this issue and gave a clarification on Twitter stating that the students should only fill up the form issued in the press release of the Indian Embassy and it will not be responsible for any misleading information in this regardIMPORTANTClarification regarding the Press Release on Return of Indian Students to China httpstcoa8lJfTP2XT httpstco6SKEhcikMv pictwittercomD8cq3Ly5mcmdash India in China EOIBeijing May 6 2022