Chakraborty, who has finished his four-year graduation course from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar, says, “I’m not sure when I’ll get the certificates from my college. My parents were thinking of getting an education loan to partly fund my education, but the documents the bank wants are not available since we are in a lockdown.” The Australian university is likely to go for a hybrid model for his course, taking part of it online, but Chakraborty is concerned. “As an engineering student, I feel access to world-class laboratories and face-to-face interaction with faculty are very important. I’m also worried about job prospects after the course.”
He is now thinking about deferring the admission to next spring or autumn, hoping that travel becomes easier and the campus opens by then.
He is not alone. Every year, over 4 lakh Indian students go overseas to study. Those who have got admission to universities abroad for Fall 2020 are facing a slew of challenges. On top of the mind is one question — whether they will be able to set foot in the school they have been preparing for months on end.
Ravi Lochan Singh, MD, Global Reach, an immigration and education consultancy, says, “While there are indications that universities in Australia will function at near-normal from July 2020, fresh international students from India may not be able to commence in that semester. Travelling and getting a visa to Australia will continue to be challenging. The earliest date for new students will be February-March 2021,” he says.
“Classes would resume on campus after travel restrictions are lifted and social distancing is eased. Meanwhile, all education is being delivered via the online platform,” says Amit Dasgupta, India country director, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
The US remains the No. 1 destination for Indian students, but in view of the public health crisis in the country, with close to 20 lakh Covid-19 cases, even youngsters with confirmed admissions are considering their options. Says Sangramjit Mukherjee, who has graduated from the Sathyabama Institute of Science & Technology in Chennai and has got admission to a master’s programme in electronics and computer engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology: “I’m looking at deferring my admission from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021 because this year it will very likely be a hybrid of online and on-campus classes. I don’t want to miss out on laboratory work or internship under the curricular practical training (CPT) available to students.”
Shaista Baljee, founder of Bengaluru-based educational consultancy firm Ivy Aspire, agrees with Mukherjee’s decision. She advises students, who are going for master’s courses, to defer their plans to next year. “While deciding on whether to take a virtual term or not at US universities, Indian students and their parents are looking at opportunity costs. There are worries over campuses not being safe from the coronavirus even if they open up. Some well-known universities are not taking a haircut on fees for hybrid classes either.”
Meanwhile, Ridhi Agarwal from Chennai, who has been selected for a four-year graduate course at New York’s Parsons School of Design, is ready to fly out and join. “I am ready to join classes on campus if they start this year. For an art and design course, online is not an option for me,” she says.
Others like Yuval Kansal, too, believe, that online classes will be a challenge especially because of the time difference between his hometown Chandigarh and Sydney, where he has got an admission for a four-year undergraduate course in computer engineering at the University of New South Wales. The course starts in June but he is in a fix. “I have got a scholarship to cover my tuition fees and cannot afford to defer the course by a semester. But if I attend online classes, the time difference will pose a problem and I will also be missing out on campus life,” he says.
Ayush Saha, who has got admission to a PG diploma in entrepreneurship at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada, is, considering different options, including deferring by a semester or even a year. “Mine is a one-year course and I don’t see any advantage in doing some of it online. It will not give the return on investment that I’m looking for in overseas education and for which my family will be spending over Rs 15 lakh,” he says. Saha will take a decision closer to September 2020 when the autumn term starts.
Leverage Edu, an Edutech firm which runs an online platform Uni Connect, has been carrying out surveys among students who are planning overseas education. According to its survey covering over 1,000 students between late April and early May, 65% students still hold out hopes to join the fall term. “Many students are shopping around for tuition discounts or GRE waivers or upgrading admissions to top institutions where they have been refused earlier. Some are accepting the hybrid online-and-campus model. Around 8% are putting off admissions to next year,” says Akshay Chaturvedi, founder, Leverage Edu.
There is however a lot of ambiguity. There was a huge surge of interest in graduate and postgraduate courses in the UK after the announcement of a two-year post-study work (PSW) visa for students enrolling from September 2020. But the proposal has not yet become a law. The Russell Group of top British universities has called on the government to pass the PSW visa through emergency immigration rules.
Meanwhile, even the coronoavirus has not yet put a stop to applications abroad. Australia and New Zealand have emerged as the safest destinations for Indian students as they have done a remarkable job in containing the virus, says Ravi Lochan Singh. Several universities in Australia and New Zealand are seeing a spike in applications. “We are seeing a rise in applications, which reflects a continued interest among students in seeking top quality education despite challenging times,” says Dasgupta. Even a pandemic has not dulled the dreams of a foreign degree.
TROUBLE AHEAD
What’s in for international students in Fall 2020
US
- Several campuses shut down due to Covid
- Concerns over restrictions on optional practical training (OPT), which allows students to work after graduation
UK
- Uncertainties over a two-year post-study work visa, scheduled to be launched in 2020
Canada
- Universities may offer a hybrid model, with one or more semesters going online
- Travel restrictions and visa delays likely
- On-campus and post-study employment may be hit
Australia
- May not open soon to international students, especially from countries badly hit by pandemic. May introduce mandatory health certificates before admission
Source: Collegify & EduPeer
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