Foreign students in Kerala varsities air their concerns

“What will we do if the fee keeps on rising like this? Earlier, we were paying the fee in rupees; one fine day they changed it to dollars, with the fee increasing 10 times. We can understand if you adjust the fee for inflation, but such drastic changes will make it unable for us to continue,” complains Mehdi Naghdi Bahar, an Iranian research scholar in the Department of Commerce of the University of Kerala, to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

The Chief Minister looks around for any official from the university. None of them seems to be present. He notes down a few points and asks T.P. Sreenivasan, Vice Chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), to take appropriate action.

“We can’t do anything about the exchange rates. But we can certainly consider your request if there has been an unfair increase with retrospective effect,” says Mr. Sreenivasan.

An international students’ meet for students from across the globe studying in different universities in the State to share their experiences and apprehensions provided a platform for the students to put across a variety of issues concerning them to the Chief Minister and the KSHEC officials. The meet was organised jointly by the KSHEC and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) on Friday.

Part-time work

The increase in fee seemed to be the major problem faced by the students, especially those from Iran, who did not have the ICCR scholarship and had to support themselves financially. Many students complained that they were not being able to work part-time to raise money. “In most Western countries, you are allowed to work part-time to fund your studies. But, here the rules don’t allow us to,” says Mohsen Zireki, a research scholar.

The delay in getting certificates was another concern. Lack of coordination was another complaint.

“When I reached the university, I found that no one from the ICCR had informed them of my arrival. There clearly is an information deficit. Also, we have to run around a lot to get things done as there is no one person to co-ordinate things,” says Kwasi Nyarko from Ghana, who is doing his MA in International Relations and Politics at Mahatma Gandhi University.

Language issues

Some students wanted a facility to learn Malayalam in their universities, as “one cannot get all things done just with English.”

As the morning session stretched on, a Malaysian student showcased his knowledge of the language, saying “enikku vishakkunnu” (I am hungry).