Global conflicts limiting medical education options for J&K students

Srinagar, Mar 8: Conflicts around the world are severely constricting medical education pathways for students from Kashmir.

With thousands forced into repeated evacuations, academic disruptions, and uncertain futures, the dream of affordable overseas MBBS degree is shattering for thousands of candidates and their families in Kashmir.

The once-affordable medical college destinations have turned into war zones or zones of hostility over the past decade.

Even with recent increase in MBBS seats, the medical seats in India are limited.

The fierce competition through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) makes medical education impossible for many aspirants.

In J&K, families have long relied on foreign universities in countries offering lower fees and easier admissions.

The popular destinations have been Iran, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Russia, and China.

However, the geopolitical crises that have escalated over the years have repeatedly dashed these options.

The students are stranded and their careers are in limbo.

The recent-most US and Israeli strikes on Iran have triggered a fresh wave of uncertainty for thousands of students already enrolled, and for those who were eying the country for MBBS.

An estimated 2000 J&K-origin students, almost all pursuing medicine were enrolled in Iranian universities.

With airspace closed and commercial flights halted over 1000 students remain stranded amidst escalated violence in the country.

The ongoing one is the third such emergency in the past 10 months for students in Iran.

The first came in June 2025, when over 4400 Indian nationals were evacuated during the ‘Operation Sindhu’.

The second wave hit during internal unrest in Iran in December-January.

The students and parents are now reliving trauma, and those who had the country in their plans for education have developed cold feet.

In 2022, Russia-Ukraine war trapped over 200 Kashmiri medical students and disrupted studies for thousands of Indians overall.

Over 300 Kashmiris were rescued in the initial weeks, with reports of around 18,000 Indian students in Ukraine.

Students faced indefinite suspensions of classes, loss of practical training, and safety threats.

Some returned to complete degrees, some retook NEET, some relocated.

However, over 11,000 saw their careers in unresolved crisis with little resolution.

Post-war, the enrollment in Ukraine has plummeted to around 200 students.

Attacks on foreign students in Kyrgyzstan, another destination for foreign medical degree for Kashmir students, forced evacuations in  2024.

In Bangladesh the massive student-led protests in mid-2024 toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government and triggered widespread unrest.

This percolated well into 2026.

Over 9000 Indian medical students, including an estimated 3500 from J&K are caught in the turmoil.

Many have been forced to stay indoors for safety. The violence and the internet shutdowns have severely disrupted classes, examinations, and clinical training.

For students and their families, it is a “nightmare,” with constant fear for personal safety.

The once-popular and affordable destination has turned into yet another dangerous destination.

Degrees from Pakistan are unrecognised by India’s National Medical Commission (NMC) for post-2018 enrollees.

Even in Russia, which was once a top choice for aspirants in Kashmir for MBBS, the safety complaints and war-related uncertainties have risen.

China that hosted around 2000 students from J&K in MBBS course in its medical colleges has also lost much of its appeal.

The 2020 India-China tensions and prolonged COVID-19 border closure stranded thousands of students for years with only online classes, most of which the NMC did not recognise.

For students, the conflicts around the world are dashing their dreams of becoming doctors.

The wars have become precarious dead ends in an already competitive field.