Blog

CORONA AND ITS EFFECT ON OVERSEAS EDUCATION

At the risk of making a statement which goes against the tide – I am going to make it – Corona or Covid 19 has had devastating effects all over the world in probably every sphere – however its impact on Overseas Education or students desiring to go Overseas for their education has been negligible. Allow me to explain how I have reached this conclusion by talking specifics:

As we are all know students desirous of pursuing their higher education overseas begin the process about a year before they have to leave. For 2020 admits, the process started in Aug/Sept. of 2019 and work was as usual. Most students were done with all their paperwork by Dec. of 2019 and then were in wait for their admission acceptances. Came March and people woke up to a world they had not seen before. Final exams were left midway for some and nobody knew whether they would even be held at all. Safety was everybody’s prime concern. When people started getting to terms.....the pending exams were conducted and post that, the results were announced. Now was the time when decisions were to be made. In the period post the results up to August when most sessions begin – every parent and child had just one question. We were flooded with calls and concerns – which is understandable. Overseas universities had announced by then that the Fall semester would definitely happen online in the virtual platform; so every parent had this one and all important question – Online or Deferment? Our personal logic to every parent was – “Arn’t you happy that your child will not be losing time? Arn’t you happy that he will still be with you, under your close watch and not be exposed to the raging infection? Arn’t you happy that your child is spending another semester with you – eating home cooked “paranthas” and has an occupation – busy settling into a new learning environment while still having the support of his parents? Would you rather defer the admission and have your child sitting at home doing nothing – no socializing, no going to the movies, no parties, going from one room to the other and just changing social media channels – perfect recipe for inviting mental health issues for your child! When we posed these questions – every parent found the answer themselves. Every student of ours enrolled for the online semester very happily! In the entire batch – only one student for USA deferred his admission and his reasons for deferring were more personal, than covid related. One of the most important factors worth considering is that these Universities have an excellent Online platform.  I, myself, have had the opportunity to take Online classes when I did my MBA in the US and realized that online classes were the best thing that could happen to you and local domestic students took online classes by choice! In the winter semester when weather conditions were bad or even otherwise - online was a very preferred option as the course content is the same, the professors are the same and the synchronized format gives you access to a live interactive class in the comfort, safety and warmth of your home.

 On hindsight – parents called us to thank for helping them take the right decision as Delhi university only started the session in Oct when these students had even written their midterms. Not to forget, that the Delhi University online platform crashed when final year Bachelor students were writing their online exams!

Come Admissions for 2021 – and the forms opened again in Aug/Sept of 2020. Students were reaching out as usual since they are to go in Fall of 2021, and all of us hoping that the pandemic will be history by then, Yes, there is one change that all counselling sessions and meetings are being done either on Facetime or zoom.  A lot of parents are actually liking this better -  one because of no risk of exposure and secondly because it is saving them hours of travel time from their homes to our office.

So, I conclude – Covid has changed lives dramatically but fortunately for students who were to go in Sept. 2020 – it has just POSTPONED the actual campus experience by a few months, not cancelled it. Nobody knew Corona was coming- so optimistically looking at the scenario – if the students are able to go in January 2021 – how does doing one semester online matter in a program of a 4 year duration?