More and more youngsters from the city and the surroundings are evincing interest in foreign education of late. Of the eight foreign educational consultancies in the city, four have been established in the last three years, indicating the spurt in demand from the aspirants of international degrees. Though the destination for a majority of students was the United States till a year ago, now the engineering graduates are focusing on Australia, while those who wish to pursue medicine are choosing China and the European countries.
“In the last year, we have processed successfully the applications of eight students seeking admission into the medicine courses in European countries. This year, there is every likelihood of a rise in the number, owing to the NEET introduced recently,” says M.A. Sayeed of Shannus Medico Abroad. The firm is now conducting admissions for the Gomel State Medical University in Belarus, Europe.
“Going by the EAMCET statistics, over one lakh students are aspiring for medicine seat in the two Telugu States, whereas the total number of seats available are just 7,000. Moreover, medical education in China and European countries is cost-effective for parents as the fee is quite reasonable when compared to our private medical colleges,” observes Mr. Sayeed.
Consultants’ services
Besides providing training for English language efficiency test, the consultancies are taking care of the documentation and the process of applications. “US education is a passé now. Engineering graduates prefer to go to Australia, where they are getting work visas in a hassle-free manner along with qualitative education in reputed institutions,” says Navadheer Annavarapu of Visa Wings, the two-year-old consultancy that sends at least 10 students to Australia in every academic season, taking the total to 30 students per annum. The situation is more or less the same in the other consultancies too. “A good number of students are approaching the consultancies in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam too,” he points out.
Interviews
For students aspiring to study medicine abroad, the academic interviews are being conducted in the city itself, as the officials of different foreign Universities are scheduling them in the local hotels. “We are not compromising on the quality of students. In addition to verifying the academic track record, we are also interacting with the parents to make sure that the student is serious towards academics,” says Maryna Piatrenka, administrative manager at the Gomel State Medical University.
“We are dealing only with the government Universities abroad and recommending them to the students only after thorough verification of the credentials of those institutions. There is a steady increase in the number of medicine aspirants going abroad from the two Telugu States with special reference to the coastal region,” points out V.R. Ram, chief executive at Hyderabad-based Medico Abroad.
