How Covid-19 is ruining plans for students to study abroad 

Indian students who bagged admissions to top foreign universities now compelled to delay travel indefinitely and make do with e-classes

Bagging a postgraduate seat in one of the top universities in Singapore was nothing short of a dream coming true for Noida-based engineer Priyadarshi Singh. But with the world in the grip of a raging pandemic, Singh, 24 may be compelled to skip taking admission this year. "I've made it to a top university in Singapore, but have decided to postpone the July intake in the light of the pandemic. I'll wait and see how the situation pans out," Singh told Mail Today. He isn't the only one whose dream to study overseas has been shattered by Covid-19. Janakpuri resident Pranshu Kumar, 21 got admission into a post-graduate course in International Football Business at the University of Brussels for which he even took a loan of Rs 15 lakh.

"The course begins in September for which I have to pay the fee by July 31, so I will wait and watch. If the situation improves, I will take admission. Or else I'll wait for another year," Pranshu said. "Universities may offer courses over the Web, but just online lessons may not be enough, particularly for technical and practical courses. I will end up shelling out close to Rs 25 lakh including fees and lodging. We are paying our hard-earned life savings for the global exposure that these universities promise - not just for online classes," he added.

HARSH VIRTUAL REALITY

With uncertainty looming large over the time when students will be able to physically travel abroad, almost all universities across the world are falling back on online lessons. And that is making many of those in India nursing a dream to study abroad anxious. The plans of Nabila Hasan, a lawyer based in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, to study in the United Kingdom, for instance, are in limbo since the prospect of online classes doesn't really excite her. Hasan had bagged a fully-funded postgraduate programme at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. "I had to join in September. But now they've decided to conduct classes online. So I won't accept the offer. It doesn't make sense for me any longer," she said.

India ranks second in the list of countries with the highest number of international students, after China. As per the Ministry of External Affairs, nearly 10.9 lakh Indian students were pursuing higher education programmes abroad in July 2019. Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, Britain's iconic Cambridge University, is among those that has decided to cancel all face-to-face lectures for 2020-21. Instead, the university has decided to hold classes virtually and stream them online until summer 2021. The new academic session starts in October.

SEASON OF ANXIETY

Scepticism is growing even among many of those already enrolled at foreign universities about completing their courses or returning to India. "My friends and I have returned to India. The virus situation is unpredictable our visa and rent agreements are expiring soon. I am not even sure what will happen to the belongings that I bought in the UK," said Vaishnavi Sridharan, studying for an MSc in Sports and Exercise Psychology from UK's Loughborough University. Sridharan, who is based in Mumbai, says her university is helping students with online recordings of classes conducted last year. "But attending online classes after spending a huge amount for admission doesn't really feel worth it.

There is an option to defer a year, but it will cause a gap-year problem," she adds. Meenu Deswal, a history researcher at University of Michigan, has no choice but to defer her plans to join campus in the semester starting January next year. "I was supposed to finish my research in India (Punjab, Delhi and Haryana) before resuming my semester. But my research work that was supposed to begin in March has been hampered because of the lockdown.

There is uncertainty when things will open up. I may have to defer my plans by one semester," said Deswal. Officials at the University of Glasgow told Mail Today that the global pandemic is causing widespread uncertainty among students across the world planning to pursue studies abroad in the 2020-2021 academic session." Indian students, like other nationalities, are wondering whether they will be able to start their studies on time and whether it will be safe for them to travel to their country of choice. We have been affected like all other universities around the world, with all teaching for the current session moved online and end of year exams being assessed and marked from a safe distance," said Rachel Sandison, Vice-Principal, External Relations, University of Glasgow. "For next year's academic session, Indian applications are up nearly 100%. We are preparing various scenarios. We are exploring where some online teaching could take place in certain situations, as well as what is the student demand for zor introduction of a greater degree of social distancing across the campus," said Sandison.

NEW HORIZONS

Professor Ted Zorn, Head of Executive Development, Massey University, New Zealand said the university is getting more, not fewer, Indian applications now but many students are understandably nervous about the travel restrictions and uncertainty over when they'd be able to physically relocate to New Zealand. "New Zealand has been an amazing success story in managing the Coronavirus, with the virus now nearly eliminated within our borders. Our best guess, based on the current positive trajectory, is that new international students will be allowed to travel into New Zealand later this year," Zorn said. Education experts say that countries that have performed well in keeping a check on the spread of virus - such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan - could see higher interest from 2021 onwards, while the US and UK could fall out of favour for the time-being.

A NUMBERS GAME

Overseas education consultants reason that there is a significantly lower return of investment in studying abroad now. "International higher education is already very expensive and with the global economy crumbling it will further reduce the chances of chances of employability in the post-Covid world. So there is health and finance uncertainty looming over lakhs of students," said Rishi Raj, a Delhi-based education counsellor.

Average tuition fee and other expenses like accommodation and documentation for different post-graduation courses in the United States cost around Rs 30-35 lakh. However, the expenses vary drastically for different courses in public and private colleges and different regions of the country. Similarly, average annual costs of education and living expenses in Australia and UK come close to Rs 20-25 lakh. Canada and Singapore are relatively cheaper, where for an undergraduate course one has to pay Rs 15-22 lakh.

A study by Edu-tech platform Leverage Edu last month revealed that 76% of the students surveyed were planning to go ahead with their education abroad in the next 6-10 months. As per the survey, 16% of students said that they will make a decision about studying abroad by the summer, while 8% are considering delaying the decision due to the Covid-19 outbreak. "Universities taking the front seat in safety measures and maintaining a clear line of communication throughout this period has been vital in the international student community's belief in pursuing their plans," said Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO, LeverageEdu.com.

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