The number of foreign nationals seeking admission to Tiruchi’s colleges seems to have come down post the COVID-19 pandemic even as more expatriate Indians are getting enrolled this year, say academics in the city.
“We have admitted one Sri Lankan woman student so far and are waiting for the papers to be cleared for two students from Rwanda this year. We also have received a good response from Indian children who have studied in schools following the CBSE syllabus in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other countries, and want to pursue college here,” David Sam Paul, student counsellor and documentation coordinator, Deanery of International Students at Bishop Heber College, told The Hindu.
The college had over 40 students from foreign countries before the pandemic, but the number had been falling steadily since 2022 because of travel restrictions and global economic uncertainty. “This academic year, we have three foreign nationals, over 10 non-resident Indians (NRIs) and more than 30 persons from the northeast,” said Mr. Paul.
Courses in Commerce and Computer Sciences are popular choices for foreigners. Burundian national Chris Ndayishmiye, 28, who joined St. Joseph’s College in 2018, for his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and is currently pursuing his Masters in the subject at the institution, said that an Indian qualification was seen as a valuable asset back home.
“Indian degree holders are sought-after in Burundi because of the high quality of education here. The course work per semester here is different from our system,” he said.
Mr. Ndayishmiye’s siblings have followed him in studying at the same college.
While the demand for Indian engineering and medical courses has begun to pick up among overseas applicants, course mapping, and twinning programmes have allowed many institutions to collaborate across the world and send local students on exchange visits, said Abraham Benjamin Samuel, assistant director, International Relations, SRM Group of Institutions, Tiruchi and Chennai.
“Our students are travelling for immersive programmes and internship ranging from a few weeks to several months, to Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, and Canada. We are working to admit foreign nationals on Tiruchi campuses this academic year. As many as 45 students from SRM TRP Engineering College and 30 from SRM Institute of Science and Technology have travelled to Malaysia on internship this year,” said Mr. Samuel.
Domestic students in nursing and physiotherapy are getting certified in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exams while those in other disciplines are learning German, French, Spanish, and Japanese to prepare for the international job market, he added.
