BENGALURU: After a year of meticulous planning,
Archana Ravi was all set to begin a master’s course at a university in New Zealand from February 2021. But the uncertainty around reopening of that country’s borders has prompted her to shift her study destination.
“I’m positive about at least starting my course from September 2021 in Canada. But with New Zealand, I will have to start online in February, with no clarity if one can move to campus when borders reopen. I also do not have time to defer studies to 2022,” said the young professional, who had moved to Bengaluru a few years ago for work.
While Archana is okay paying for quarantine facilities, she says it makes no sense shelling lakhs of rupees on online classes with no guarantee of work once the course is over.
Like Archana, several city students who had planned to pursue higher studies in New Zealand and Australia are now opting for universities in Canada and UK. This is in line with the global trend, where students are willing to quarantine and even shift study destinations rather than deferring academics or continuing with online classes.
A survey conducted by IDP Connect International Student Crossroads Research in October shows 92% of respondents chose quarantining over deferring study plans. The number went up from 77% in June. According to experts, this shows increased confidence in safety measures and the urgency to get on with higher studies.
The survey found 48% are considering switching destinations if they can start on-campus classes sooner. About 18% of respondents are planning to shift to Canada and 10% to the UK. IDP Connect is a student recruitment body.
The shift is because Canada and the UK have opened their borders for international students. On the other hand, New Zealand is set to announce its decision about reopening borders sometime in February 2021, which will be too late for aspirants to start studies for the academic year on campus. Australia is also unclear about its policy on allowing foreign students.
Though
NZ
universities have offered their courses online, students are anxious about how long it would drag, as one needs to study for 30 weeks on campus to be eligible for their poststudy work visa (PSWV).
For instance, Koramangala resident Preetham had plans to start higher studies in New Zealand in 2020, but postponed his plans to 2021. But even now, things looks uncertain. Preetham, whose focus is on the PSWV, said countries must be more accommodating in the new settings.
80% students hope to start studies as planned Up from 69 percent in June, 80 percent of students in October are expecting to start their studies as planned in 2021.
In their official release, Simon Emmett, CEO of IDP Connect, said: “This year, international students have shown grit and resilience as they adapted their longstanding travel plans to accommodate Covid-19 challenges.”
The global survey which had over 3,000 respondents from India and several other countries like China (466), Bangladesh (192) and Sri Lanka among others, showed that 44 percent students are only willing to study for up to three months online before transitioning to physical classes.
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