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The Hindu
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Tiruchi students look beyond U.S., U.K. for overseas education
Volatile global politics, visa restrictions, and rising cost of living are forcing students in Tiruchi to reconsider their option of proceeding to the U.S., the U.K., and Canada for higher education. Some educational consultancies have closed down their overseas departments because of the changing market dynamics and decided to concentrate on the more vibrant domestic sector. The availability of one-year postgraduate courses had made the U.K. a preferred destination for many Indian students. However, of late, there had been a slowdown in demand for these courses because of the rise in living costs and greater restrictions on part-time employment, said education consultants. 'Every September, we used to have up to 50 students from Tiruchi going to major English-speaking countries, where the fees would be over ₹15 lakh a year. This year, we have only around 30 students enrolled so far, mostly for the U.K. This despite the fact that education loans being available easily in India with banks willing to fund up to ₹50 lakh for overseas studies,' Girubakaran Periasamy of Scholars Global Education told The Hindu. Artificial intelligence, data science, business analytics, electronics engineering, and business management are among the subjects that Indian students pursue abroad. 'There has been a drastic drop in enrolment for qualifying tests such as TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT. We used to get up to 20 students for the U.S. until recently. This year, we have only three and two of them are having second thoughts,' said S. Sivakumar, CEO of the educational consultancy U2CAN. Mr. Sivakumar attributed the decline in applications to the U.S. and Canada to a combination of the restrictions placed on student visas and costlier degrees. 'We are seeing many more enquiries about institutions in European countries such as Finland, Sweden, France, and Germany. Among Asian countries, there is a growing interest in Japan,' he said.
The Hindu
24-04-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Summer vacation throws up a learning opportunity for children
The School Education department has been promoting self-learning sessions during summer vacation in Tiruchi to bridge the learning gap among children in Classes I to V and to boost admissions to government schools. Children tend to forego the learning they acquired during the academic year during vacation. Government schools are using the downtime to upgrade students' skills while making learning an enjoyable experience. The Andanallur block education officials have launched the Symbiotic Learning Model, an initiative to prevent learning loss among children in Classes I to V during vacation. It encourages children to study at home with their classmates with the involvement of parents and the local community. Under the initiative, Panchayat Union Primary School in Kambarasampettai Colony has engaged around 55 students. A group of students forms a small study circle within the locality, which functions as a learning centre coordinated by parents. It operates from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day. Everyday lesson plans and homework are sent to the students via WhatsApp. The students are asked to record a video of reading and speaking and send it to the teacher. The teachers monitor the progress and clear doubts online. The students are also given a topic to write about and are encouraged to use artificial intelligence editing tools to correct the passage. Parents were trained to guide the students with homework and to effectively utilise mobile phones to access educational content, including apps, videos, and online resources to enhance the learning experience. Study material, such as blackboards and chalk, are also provided to students. The initiative is aimed at ensuring that children receive continuous monitoring and support in their education and prevent learning loss during holidays. 'This would improve reading, writing, and speaking skills. Introducing them to AI tools would help them learn new words,' said S. Sivakumar, retired Principal, District Institute of Education and Training, Kancheepuram, who is the coordinator of the programme. The school has 59 students and two teachers. So far, 14 children have been enrolled for the upcoming academic year. It offers chess, carrom, silambam, bharatanatyam and other extracurricular activities for the students. 'We aim to improve the admissions in the school as parents appreciate the efforts of the school in keeping the students engaged,' said R. Sukumar Ramakrishnan, headmaster. The programme is expected to be expanded to other schools in Andanallur Block soon.
