Dear Friends and Colleagues,

A new year, new opportunities and new beginnings. 

While the past year has had its hardships and uncertainties, the future that is dawning upon us looks bright- more so in the international education space. Canada has truly shown itself to stand out amongst other countries as a leader in supporting and championing its international students. 

2020 taught us to react to each adversity in our path with optimism and compassion. Through sheer diligence and persistence, we learnt to innovate and embrace technology like never before. Once again, humanity showed us that we can persevere, adapt, and rise again. 

And it is crucial for us to continue to grow- Canada can, and wants to do so much more. It is at this moment that we can pause to examine what worked and what we could improvise on. We must listen more closely, adapt our thinking and change our actions. It is imperative for Canadian institutions to diversify, to embrace betters ways of communicating, to not only collaborate with external stakeholders but to find means of coordinating with the government. 

The pandemic and adversities will continue to test us and our work. But the future is ours to shape.

We at WWEC hope to do everything in our power to help you through this journey. This year, too, we will strive to provide you with important updates and developments from key markets in Asia and Africa- stay tuned in the coming months!

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to enduring partnerships, new alliances, and an exhilarating year of learning ahead!

Vinay Chaudhry
CEO, WWEC

ASIA: LATEST UPDATES

India has reported 12,881 new daily COVID cases in the last 24 hours. 86.61% of these new cases are from 6 states with Kerala (4892) and Maharashtra (4787) leading with the highest numbers. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, and Chandigarh reported less than 500 new cases each. The CBSE exams for 2021 will be held from May 4 to June 11. Schools will be allowed to conduct practical/project/internal assessments of Class 12 from 1 March 2021. No confirmation yet on when the results will be released but they can be expected to be out by 15 July 2021.

Most State Boards have decided to conduct Class 12 exams in the month of April, May, and June, except Bihar where Class 12 exams began on 1 February.

In the last 24 hours, 1272 people tested COVID-19 positive in Pakistan. All education institutions in Pakistan, from Nursery to University level, were reopened on Monday, 20 February, following a two-month closure due to a second wave of the coronavirus.

Bangladesh has announced that it will extend the closure of educational institutions until 28 February, a straight 11-month shutdown of in-person classes since the first COVID-19 case was registered in the country in March last year. Exam dates have been announced for the admission tests under the cluster system at 20 general, science, and technology universities: 19 June 19 Humanities, 26 June for Commerce, and 3 or 10 July for Science students.

23 cities and provinces of Vietnam have decided to halt the resumption of in-person learning after the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday lead to community-wide COVID-19 outbreaks.

Philippines has confirmed 1,744 new COVID-19 cases as of February 18, 2021, an increase of 600 cases in the last 24 hours. The country is eyeing an extension of the school year and shortening the summer break of students.

The COVID-19 crisis has forced school closures in almost 200 countries, disrupting the learning process of more than 1.7 billion children, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Most governments, including the Philippines, were forced to adopt distance-learning solutions to ensure education continuity, and much is being debated on the extent to which students have learned (or missed) during school closures.

AFRICA: LATEST UPDATES

The emergence of new coronavirus variations in Africa has contributed to an increase in the number of both cases and deaths. At least 40 countries have now seen a second wave of the pandemic, including all countries in the southern African region.

Around 140 Ph.D. students from North Africa are to study at the University of Limerick. This initiative by the Algerian Government was agreed on last year and is believed to be worth as much as €20m to the university. The move follows the decision of the Algerian government to change the official language of teaching and learning in third-level institutions from French to English.

Egypt has announced its Spring 2021 semester plan. Exams of high school senior-year students (Thanaweya Amma) will not be held before July and will be electronic. Spring 2021 will begin on 20 February at international schools. First semester exams at Egypt’s universities will be held starting 27 February. Private universities are qualified to conduct online exams due to their advanced facilities and a small number of students.

Kenya has experienced one of the longest school closures of the continent and is the last country in East Africa to fully reopen its schools. Thousands of children failed to report back to school, most of them girls.

After an almost 10-month hiatus from classes, the initial joy of going back to school for many students in Ghana has since vanished as the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has put over 222 private schools out of business. Economic challenges have led many proprietors to convert their facilities into residential apartments, hostels, and guest houses – leaving over 40,000 students and 3,496 teachers in academic limbo.

As of 17 February, South Africa recorded 2,320 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. After a long two-month holiday, pupils are finally heading back to classrooms and officials from the Department of Basic Education are visiting different schools across the country to monitor their readiness. South African universities and colleges are on track to complete the 2020 and 2021 academic years. All universities will open between March and April 2021 after the matric results are announced on 26 February.

NEWS FROM WWEC

• Virtual events with the University of Victoria: Maple Assist collaborated with the University for an Instagram Live and Webinar in January 2021. The Webinar had over 300 registrations from India whereas the Live reached about 800 viewers interested in studying in Canada.

• MLEC Africa was featured in the New African Magazine where CEO Vinay Chaudhry shared his insights on why it is important to expand in the continent from Nairobi, Kenya. Read the interview (on Pg. 54) here.

• Maple Assist in conversation with Josh Schachnow on Friday, 26 February: An Instagram Live with the CEO of Visto.ai to understand the new travel restrictions, COVID guidelines on reaching Canada, and updates from IRCC. Catch it live at 9.00 am ET/7.30 pm IST here.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• For International Recruitment Solutions: https://worldeduconnect.com/
• Maple Assist curated Blog: https://www.mapleassist.com/blogs/
• Scotiabank Resources for Newcomers to Canada: https://startright.scotiabank.com/covid-19-resources.html
• Maple Assist Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXFhQ5_uIF4cQLidiOO_m-Q
• Past Newsletters: https://worldeduconnect.com/resources/