Even as the state government makes efforts to address the issue of mass migration of students in the Higher Education sector, the trend continues unabated, and on a large scale.
An event held in Kochi, on Saturday, July 30, by Santamonica, an overseas education facilitator, witnessed the largest number of students migrating from a single country to a single destination in a single intake. A staggering total of 7,236 students are all set to fly out to Canada. This once again highlights the significant exodus of students to foreign countries, which poses serious challenges for the higher education institutions in the state.
"Canada is a major study abroad destination, due to the ease of getting permanent residence status and the huge number of jobs available thanks to the big manufacturing units based along the border producing products for the US market," said Denny Thomas, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Santamonica Study Abroad.
According to him, the group of students going abroad is comprised of both who have completed Plus-2 courses and also degrees. "The ratio of students who go abroad for higher studies after completing Plus-2 and graduation is 50:50. All of them opt for diploma courses. Another attraction that Canada presents is that the courses offered are job-oriented. These courses are tailor-made to feed the workforce requirement in each state of the country," said Denny.
What's in demand?
According to Mohammed Riyas, a Kollam-based education consultant, diplomas in technical subjects like Computer Science are the most in demand when it comes to Canada. "Only a very small percentage of students go for research and postgraduate courses," he said. Earlier, the UK was the biggest destination, he added. "However, the changes in the rules besides the difficulty in getting PR have made it less attractive," said Mohammed.
"Another factor that attracts students to Canada is the ease of moving across the border to the USA," he added. Even as Canada takes the biggest slice of the cake, Australia and currently, Sweden too have become big markets, said Mohammed. According to him, with Sweden offering family visas, which has been stopped by the UK, the country is fast becoming a favourite. "Even European countries like Portugal and Balkan countries are finding takers," he added.
However, NORKA-Roots is not involved in recruiting students for overseas education. According to an official with NORKA, the only recruitment that happens are ones related to jobs like nursing. "However, the students going abroad for higher studies have been advised to apply for a student ID card of NORKA. The provision for student ID cards was launched in 2020," he said.
He said the ID card holder will be eligible for Personal Accident Insurance coverage of Rs 4 lakh for death and up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh for permanent or partial disability. "But the number of students who apply for the ID card is very less," said the official.
