Stressful times for students at rebel universities

Third-year economics student Inna Shmarai is stressing out these days. It’s not just that exams are coming up soon at the National University in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. What’s adding to the slight 19-year-old’s worries is that ever since her university was taken over by armed separatist fighters in east Ukraine she isn’t sure exactly what degree she’ll receive when she eventually does graduate – and whether it will actually be worth anything, reports AFP.

"Mostly we are concerned about our degrees because of the political situation and the war," Shmarai told AFP."Then you can add to that worries about the fact that exams and grades are on their way too," she added, as she headed towards a lecture with a pile of books under her arm.

Shmarai, and thousands of other students like her in the war-torn region, are caught at the centre of a tug-of-war. Since the insurgents seized power in a bloody conflict that began last April, they have cemented their grip over everyday life in the towns they run. That has now expanded to the education system and universities – with institutes made to switch over to the rebel’s self-declared people’s republic.
Full report on the ZeeNews site