Education consultants witnessing increase in enquiries

Updated on: Wednesday, April 04, 2012

The overseas education consultants in the city are witnessing an increase in enquiries from prospective students, with the last date for September intake for foreign universities and colleges closing soon. United Kingdom, that was once the most preferred education destination from Kerala has made way for New Zealand, Canada and Australia, which have become favourites.

Along with this, institutes in the city which give IELTS and TOEFL training are also seeing an increase in student numbers, who are aiming to qualify for September and February admissions.

Talking to TOI, Molly Mathew, a homemaker from Kottayam said that she was preparing for the journey of her son Rahul Itty Mathew who had applied for an MBA programme in Canada.

"Though he is 22 years old, like any other parents we were initially opposed to the idea of sending him to Canada due to safety concerns. But a chance meeting with an immigration expert during an education expo changed our outlook. Later when we got in touch with an education consultancy in the city they assured us about the on-campus official for international students who will address the issues of the students during the entire academic period," Molly said.

While intakes are more for New Zealand and Canada, with Australia close on the heels, the appeal for UK has not yet worn out. But the fact that UK is not generous like others in matters of stay back period makes the other three nations attractive. The preferred courses for Kerala students are nursing, dental courses, MBA, media studies and social work.

A senior staff member of Santa Monica, an immigration consultancy in Kochi, said that most of the parents were enthusiastic to send the kids because of the immigration possibilities available in the country.

"As many as 50 enquiries come every day regarding educational options in these countries. Considering the stay back option, immigration possibility, low crime rate and availability of numerous courses, New Zealand and Canada has transformed into the most desired destination for students in Kerala. Till March 2012, we have made over 50 admissions for the September and February academic period for Canada, New Zealand, UK, Singapore and Australia," the employee said.

Global educational consultants in the city pointed out that the presence of community colleges that were ready to accept students who had scored average marks was also an attractive factor. Earlier UK and Australia topped the list of preferred educational destinations, but the tide was definitely changing in favour of Canada and New Zealand, they said.

Education consultants witnessing increase in enquiries

More Education news