A medical student from Colliers Wood who was studying in Ukraine is asking UK universities to allow British medical students to finish their degrees here.
Archana Pusparajah, 24, is in semester two of her fourth year at the Dnipro Medical Institute of Traditional and Non-Traditional Medicine in Ukraine.
She moved there from the UK in October with three friends - Saaria Ahmed, Rajwinder Kaur and Tasnim Sobur.
Archana and the group are asking the British government and medical schools to consider student transfers for those who have had to halt their studies in Ukraine.
They have tried contacting local MPs and have started a petition with fellow students to try and get their concerns discussed in Parliament.
Archana told the Wimbledon Times: “Everything was going good, we were really enjoying our classes and everything then during December time because of the increased cases of Covid we had to return back to the UK.
“The classes went online and that was okay but then suddenly this war came about, and everything got turned upside down."
The Dnipro Medical Institute of Traditional and Non-Traditional Medicine was completely shut down on February 24 when Russia invaded.
She said: “We are really missing Ukraine even though we were only living there for three months.
“We became attached to the country because it is really safe for students like us and the possibilities the University provided us with was great.
“Everything was so amazing there and we really hope that Ukraine wins in this war.”
Archana would have completed her full degree in June if not for the Russian invasion halting her studies.
She came to UK when she was 16 and lived in Streatham until 2018, before moving to Colliers Wood.
Archana completed her first two years in the UK at Roehampton University studying BioMed.
Her third year was supposed to be in Ukraine, but all classes were kept online because of pandemic restrictions.
Archana explained: “Obviously the University can’t guarantee anything at the moment, and at first they asked us to transfer to other countries, but the transfer is not that easy as we have tried other countries too and they aren’t accepting.”
The Dnipro Medical Institute of Traditional and Non-Traditional Medicine is now telling the students to wait for the situation to settle but Archana says that the uncertainty is huge.
Archana said: “The lecturers were informing us plenty before the war became more severe but now with internet issues, the struggles to recharge phones and running from one place to another, we have not received anything.
“We don’t really expect replies though from lecturers and the staff though because of the horrid situation.”
Archana has not come across any UK universities considering taking on students that have had to discontinue their studies in Ukraine.
The group of friends are now trying to find a hospital where they can complete 5,500 clinical hours of clinical work experience required to qualify to register with the UK’s General Medical Council.
Currently, no hospital will accept students before they have completed their fourth year.
Archana said: “The British Medical Association are saying there is a currently shortage of 50,000 doctors in the UK so if that is the case why won’t they accommodate students like us who really want to continue their studies.”
You can view the petition to allow British medical students in Ukraine to continue their studies in the UK here.
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