he current diplomatic stand-off between India and Canada has been having an indirect impact on international students. Candidates who have applied or are planning to apply for courses in the country fear delays in visa processing, changes in immigration policies, or perceptions of safety and security concerns. Such developments are deterring prospective Indian students from choosing Canada as their study-abroad destination, even after full-fledged planning.
lthough Canada has built a strong reputation as a welcoming and diverse country for international students, overseas education consultants say there are other options in terms of distance from India and overall expenditure.
Moneycontrol had earlier reported on how many students are now looking at other options such as the US or Europe, especially after threats were made against Indians by a Khalistani extremist.
However, completely switching the study-abroad destination is easier said than done. It involves various aspects that need to be inspected thoroughly, such as a change in tuition fees, accommodation charges, and daily expenses.
Overall expenses
Expense-wise, the closest would be the United Kingdom (UK), followed by the United States (US). There are other similarly priced or even cheaper universities available in parts of Western Europe but again, if the objective is to build a career in the host country, then these two are the next best options, if not better options, Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO of Leverage Edu told Moneycontrol.
According to Chaturvedi, even if hopefuls apply in the January-March quarter, they can safely get into a September/October (fall) intake program. However for those who are about to start the program or had started in the last fall intake, the process will be a little more complicated, but there are options.
In most scenarios, universities across countries have long-standing partnerships, and they try to make it as smooth as they possibly can. That said, of course, there will be some administrative hassle, and moreover, till now, we haven’t seen a single scenario where a student already in Canada wants to transition to another place,” he added.
Employability factor
Getting a job immediately after the competition of education is a dream for every student, irrespective of where they pursue graduation. On the employability factor, study-abroad consultants say the UK and Ireland are good alternatives to Canada.
“Students that have gone in the last few years have tended to find skilled employment. Canada has always been popular for its ‘easy to get employment’ factor, but a lot of the students would probably get semi-skilled employment, and not necessarily skilled,” said Suneet Singh Kochar, CEO of Fateh Education.
Indian students are second only to Romanians on a list of international students most likely to be employed in England and Wales, Census 2021 data released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
Indian students in England and Wales constitute the largest population, at 11.6 percent, of over 3.7 lakh international students, followed by China (11.2 percent), Romania (9.5 percent) and Nigeria (5.3 percent).