Surveys show that the vast majority of Indian students are still keen to study abroad in near future

We may be living through a pandemic, but it hasn’t crushed the dreams of Indian students who want to study abroad.

Seventy percent of prospective international students from India surveyed by Mumbai-based edtech startup Yocket want to continue with their applications to study overseas, according to The PIE News.

A fifth of respondents said it was “too early to decide,” while another nine percent suggested they wanted to defer their admission.

Only one percent of survey respondents said that wanted to remain in the country and study in India.

Edu-tech platform Leverage Edu also conducted a similar survey among Indian students registered on their platform who plan to continue their higher education abroad

The results showed that 76 percent of Indian students are planning to go ahead with their study abroad plans in the next six to 10 months (September or January intakes) — 16 percent said that they will make a decision by summer, while eight percent are considering deferring their process due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

However, those considering deferring their plans or have yet to decide about it were initially unaware of measures taken by universities for the September 2020 and January 2021 intakes — such as blended learning options — when they answered the survey.

After learning about these measures, 91 percent were convinced enough that they reverted to their original plan of studying in an international university in the next six to 10 months.

Indian bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan (L) and Australia Chancellor of La Trobe University, Australian John Brumby (R) pose for pictures during the La Trobe University PhD scholarship to PhD research student Gopika Kottantharayil Bhasi (C)at the Indian Cinema Attraction Fund and 10th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Celebration, in Mumbai on February 26, 2020. Source: Sujit Jaiswal/AFP

The results of these surveys show that the international student market should bounce back as soon as it becomes safe to travel again and in-person classes can resume.

Yocket co-founder Sumeet Jain said in a statement, “We have seen panic among students looking to study abroad. Many of the students were in the middle of their applications for the fall 2020 season.”

He advised Indian students not to abandon their applications to study abroad amidst the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

Although classes will likely continue online in summer and fall semesters, it’s still worth it to go ahead and begin your programmes so you don’t waste any time in your academic career.

Jain said, “If the students aren’t able to complete their process they would end up wasting a year. We don’t want that to happen. Even if the term starts online or a bit late, they would need to be prepared. We want to be sure that students don’t waste this time in panic.”

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