A number of Moroccan students, together with their Arab colleagues at the Faculty of Medicine of Ukrainian Universities, have issued a distress call to the Ukrainian authorities, including the authorities of their respective countries, calling on them to intervene quickly to resolve their crisis due to the spread of the Coronavirus.
Moroccan students confirmed in a video posted on Facebook that they were going through a difficult time because they were forced to pass the Kroc exam in classrooms without the necessary health protection and prevention of the Coronavirus.
Students state that the failure of Ukrainian society to adhere to the quarantine may exacerbate the health situation in the country, which threatens their safety if they move to colleges to pass the practice exam, which is reported to be of no use in Morocco or in any other Arab countries where it is not taken by the authorities. Arab citizens must pass a special examination to practice the profession in their country.
“Because of the quarantine, our parents can no longer send us money for the cost of studying or our daily living money,” says one of them.
“Because of quarantine, most parents have lost their jobs or are in financial distress for not exercising their duties,” adds another.
“What’s worse, another student stresses, that even these able parents couldn’t send money to their children because of the quarantine that forced banks and money-sending agencies to close their doors until the crisis came to an end.”
For this reason, Moroccan students, together with other Arab students, are calling on the Ukrainian authorities and appealing to President Volodymyr Zelensky to either cancel the exam — which is not valid in their country — or postpone it or pass it virtually online, as is the case in the rest of Europe and the world.
“Due to the spread of Corona among Ukrainian citizens and some foreigners, the increase in the deaths, that we regret, is a result of recklessness and lack of seriousness in compliance with quarantine standards, and because health security is a right for all, we the Alumni Students Association from all foreign communities believe that we also have the right to graduate on time, as scheduled according to the contract we have with all our universities. We demand that we complete the state exam online, even if it is not required in our countries,” reads a report from the said students sent to the International Student Association of Ukraine.
“The risk of contracting Covid-19 for third-year students is the same for the fifth and the sixth, so why they can take the first step exam in September while the second step exam is scheduled for early June?” asked a student.
“Indeed, why does the ministry put students at risk of infection by putting them under one roof in a closed hall for an exam that they don’t need since most of them are forced to take an equivalent exam in their countries to get a medical license,” says one student,” the student further noted.
The Foreign Alumni Students Association concludes that they appreciate all the efforts of Ukraine and its warm hospitality and want to thank the country and its authorities for giving them the opportunity to obtain higher degrees, but at the same time, they appeal to the humanity of the Ministry of Health and the members of the Ukrainian Parliament who are responsible for issuing such decisions to cancel this year’s Kroc 2 exam (2020) or to postpone it or let them pass it online for the safety of foreign students due to the difficult situation and the great pressure they suffer physically, intellectually and psychologically during this global crisis.
Abu Leila
