How Did Coronavirus Impact International Students Worldwide?

Coronavirus (COVID-19) unsettles dreams of Indian students who desire to study abroad.

Amidst the losses suffered due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), it stands a prominent loss of education. Those who lost their lives would undoubtedly be remembered, but those who are losing their course time to COVID-19 are going to face damage for an extended period.

Over 160 countries have shut down their educational institutions as a measure of controlling the coronavirus. It does mean that 87% of the world’s student population’s education has been immensely affected by the Corona Virus disease of 2019, thus the name COVID-19.

Not only this brought a long-term break to students, but also it has brought a break in their courses. Those that had up-coming summer vacations only had an increase in its months, yet those with continuing terms are inclined to face a dilemma for a long time.

Examinations postponed due to COVID-19

Examinations have been postponed to further unknown dates, students with board exams, semester ends and finals have their fingers crossed. More than 1,379,344,914 students are waiting for the announcement of the re-opening or extension dates.

Governments’ are trying to tackle this problem as soon as possible as each day would be considered as many classes lost to students. 

“The university already had extended its spring break and asked students not to return to campus as the coronavirus spread” — Madeline St. Amour, University Of Alabama.

At the global level, UNESCO has released recent figures to measure the losses, some 1.3 billion students faced the inability of attending school or university on March 23, 2020. The statistics are different yet equally threatening at the local levels.

Apart from the on-going university sessions and school classes, another way of students being affected by COVID-19 is the admissions of international students.

Students that had not yet gotten admission but have pending applications are certain that their wait for approval would probably last longer than they had thought. Thus, deciding that they would have to send in applications to their national or local universities to make up for the loss faced. 

“For students who wish to attend in person but are not able to secure visas to travel in time for the fall semester, we are offering the ability to defer their admission from the Fall 2020 semester to the Spring 2021 or Fall 2021 semester.” – Prastacos, Stevens Institute of Technology.

Foreign universities such as Princeton, USC, and Brown, etc. in the USA and many universities in the UK have announced that the admission process will not be disrupted and that they would not let the COVID-19 affect their application outcome.

It is a massive opportunity for the aspirants abroad, and it also means that they would only continue or commence class sessions by Fall 2020′ or on further notice.

Canada closed borders to non-citizens because of Coronavirus

Justin Trudeau had announced the closing of borders for foreigners on March 18, and it resulted in international students who were studying in Canada being inclined to return home.

Even if public places open up again, it is sure that borders are to remain closed for a more extended period. This would mean foreign students would have to face more losses than the national ones.

“Those that are considering staying are asking how they will afford to stay here over the summer as most were planning to work, and many workplaces are reducing staffing.”

A loan program has also been implemented to help the students and foreigners return home from Canada. Though, it is very difficult to maintain as Canada is the third-leading international students’ destination.

The students that have gotten admission into the abroad universities either have to look for an alternate plan or if they are hopeful enough, they might as well wait for the classes of Fall’ 2020. These students are not stuck for the closures of universities, but unfortunately for the closures of visa acceptance and flights.

Foreign universities focusing on online classes program

Foreign universities have been focusing on implementing the online classes program, they have emphasized virtual tours, but all of this would only prompt extension of re-opening dates and admission deadlines. 

For now, those continuing classes would have to keep up with online classes, and they are going to have an on-going difficult time.

Students on online classes are loaded with work assignments as internet facilities are a problem in developing countries. It is one of the most challenging times faced by students in over a century.

What would happen to the Visa expiry of students?

One of the unanswered questions is what would happen to the Visa expiry of students that haven’t gone home due to travel advisories of countries.

It is self-evident that the students need to be well-prepared for institutions’ unpredictable measures. One of the preparations they could make is to get themselves tested.

Whenever the countries open borders, they would require a result of the COVID-19, those with negative results only will be granted entry into their country.

If students get themselves tested soon, they would not have to face any problems in the future because it is sure that after students receive their I-20 from the universities, they might not have much time to waste.

When will the Institutions revive?

Institutions are expected to get back on track by August or September. The crisis has affected too much and attacked too many. Therefore, instead of panicking or simply wasting time in quarantine, it is important to keep up with online classes.

If a student is waiting for admissions, they might as well find classes related to their potential courses online. They may learn from those as much as they can because even after re-opening institutions, students might have to face term and course completion related problems.

Conclusion

To conclude, there will be problems, and they are not going to end too soon, yet with proper planning and precautions, we can surely defeat this crisis.

Keeping safe and healthy is on top of the list of priorities. Yet, it is highly essential to have awareness and education on this matter so that one can predict the authorities’ potential moves and prepare accordingly.

It is the time when students will be able to manifest the effects of their education over the impact of COVID-19 on their education.