The education consultancies that TNM spoke to said that there had been a drop in the number of enquiries they are getting for the US, compared to last year.
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Santosh Neelangatil, the principal consultant at Merit Higher Education Consultants, estimates that out of the 200 students he would usually consult for, 120 would go to the United States for higher education. However, this year, a number of unprecedented circumstances have led to students aspiring to study abroad looking at options in other countries. Consultancies say that students are now looking at Canada and the United Kingdom for higher education over the US. “This year, the inquiries for the US have been around 80-100. Even students who are applying to American universities are exploring options in other countries as well, which they wouldn’t earlier,” says Santosh. The US in July rescinded its decision that had disallowed international students from remaining in the country if they did not take in-person classes. This came after a number of lawsuits were filed by educational institutions including Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) over the restriction on student visas. However, the US has also announced that new international students will be barred from coming to the country if they take their classes online during the fall. Additionally, the Donald-Trump led government had also suspended H1-B visa applications till December 31, 2020, back in June. It only introduced exemptions earlier this month allowing conditional re-entry for applicants looking to return to jobs held in the US with the same employer and in the same position and visa category can resume their work. This, along with the country being worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the political situation – recent unrest, along with the precarious position of immigrants – have brought the US lower in the priority list of higher education aspirants, observe consultancies. Saba, the founder of Enrologies, another higher education consultancy in Bengaluru, has observed a similar trend. She says that among her students, Canada is the top contender for higher education aspirants, especially if they are looking at job-oriented courses such as digital marketing, human resources and so on. “Because it is easier to get a job there after completing such courses,” she explains. The same reasoning applies for the UK, which is emerging as the second most popular destination. “Since the US was sending back international students earlier, it has been really demotivating. They don’t want to spend Rs 40-50 lakh for an online course they will do sitting here, online. In Canada, there is more flexibility of visa rules,” Saba adds. Further, Santosh notes that since last year, they are also seeing students from non-STEM backgrounds wanting to go abroad for higher education for both undergraduate and post-graduate courses – such as economics and design. Australia too is emerging as a popular choice, especially for courses like culinary arts, he adds. Some European countries are also seeing an increased interest. Germany for instance, is popular, because public universities provide free education given the candidate has the required percentage, required score in IELTS and/or German, especially for engineering courses. “France too, because of comparatively more affordable courses; and Malta for nursing and pharmacy courses, because they make you eligible to work in any European country,” Saba notes. Saba says that while enquiries for higher education in the US have reduced to just 3-4 a day since March this year from 6-7 calls per day last year, she expects that the country will return to being a top contender next year, if the pandemic situation normalises. “But if the visa restrictions continue to be there, then other countries will continue to be more popular.”
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