Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) India Wednesday issued an advisory asking Indian students already pursuing or planning to study in the Eurasian region to cross-check facts about the security situation and education standards in countries in the region.

The advisory comes in the wake of a surge in the number of Indians pursuing or planning to take up short-term (up to three years or less) courses, including medical courses, at various universities and institutes in some countries of the Eurasia region.

“Some of the universities/institutions are located in places with fragile law and order situations, instability or conditions generally not conducive for the pursuit of educational courses by foreign students,” the external affairs ministry said in its advisory.

“Further, the degrees/certificates awarded by some of these universities/institutions are still not recognized outside these regions,” said the advisory.

The Eurasian region comprises Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia.

The ministry has asked Indian students who are planning to pursue courses in the CIS/Eurasia region to satisfy themselves about physical safety and living conditions, standards of education, recognition of degrees/certificates and general credentials of the educational institutions before heading to these countries.

The ministry also underlined that students planning to pursue higher studies in the Eurasia region should know that this region is separate from the Euro/Schengen Zone and, therefore, travel to Western Europe from this region requires requisite visas and permits.

Last year, over 100 Indians students got trapped in the worst violence to hit Kyrgyzstan in decades. Indian authorities had to be evacuated from the violence-hit area.