An 'educational' experience

Updated on: Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I come from a tiny village called Irudayakulam in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, around 650 km from Chennai. I studied in three different schools - St Xavier's Middle School, Sacred Heart Middle School, Irudayakulam, and St Mary's Higher Secondary School, Vikiramasingapuram. I completed my Bachelor's in English Literature from St John's College, Palayamkottai, Bachelor's in education from St Xavier's College of Education and Master's in English Literature from Manonmanium Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli.

For two years, I worked for the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging at Trichy and I was a member of an organisation called Brothers of the Sacred Heart in India. I came to Belgium in September 2003 to do a Master's in Educational Studies at Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (KUL), one of the top universities in Belgium. The main reason was that the tuition fee was affordable in Belgium as compared to the US, which was the other option that I was considering.

I paid only 500 euros as fees for the entire Master's programme. The living cost was around 500 euros per-month during the year 2003-2004. KUL was founded in 1425, and inspired by the European Christian tradition, the university embraces the values of free inquiry. It became popular in India among the priests, as Theology was the first postgraduate programme taught in English at the university. There are around 12 faculties and around 50 departments. It is well known for research in Europe and all over the world.

Further, I was accepted for a doctoral programme as I obtained 75% in my Master's and 15 out of 20 for my Master's thesis. The admission criteria for doctoral students are 70% and 14 in thesis. I started with a modest scholarship of 550 euro a month for the first two years. During the third year, I did not have any scholarship and I had to support myself with a part-time job. It is not easy to find part-time jobs in Belgium, as I am not fluent in either Flemish or French. I was fortunate to get a scholarship for the fourth and fifth year of my doctoral studies. The scholarship comprised 1,299 euros a month and a 200-euro in addition as dependant allowance. I have almost completed my doctoral studies and I have been lucky to secure a traineeship at the European Commission. I will be working at the Directorate of Education and Culture from October 1, 2009 to February 2010. It is a paid traineeship of around 1,000 euros a month.

When I arrived in Belgium, it was a culture shock. But I managed with the help of other students, both Indians and Flemish. The university also offers a lot of support , for example, there is a student housing service that helps with accommodation. Currently, I am living in a university-subsidised residence. The university and the government also provide support such as free bus tickets for local trips, free bicycles, and so on. Leuven is a safe town, though the cost of living in Belgium has risen in recent years.
My parents are not educated and my siblings are not well-educated either. My parents could only educate me till the secondary school. I have to thank the 'Brothers of the Sacred Heart' for my higher education; the organisation helped me to fund my studies.

My current doctoral research, 'Globalisation and Curriculum Restructuring in Higher Education: Re-stratification of Undergraduate and Academic programmes in Indian Universities,' aims to look at the implications of globalisation in higher education curriculum restructuring. I am comparing trends in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I am working on my thesis and hope to publish it soon. I have published four papers based on my research.

My goal is to work for an international organisation committed to education for a few years and then join a university in India. I would like to continue with my research and teach in the future.

Timesofindia

An 'educational' experience

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