The latest news and updates in higher education across the globe

Highlights Of The December 2021 Newsletter

• India issues new travel rules for international travellers. 
• The number of foreign students coming to India increases by 14%. 
• Vietnam to allow resumption of regular commercial flights.
• Nigeria is mulling over reciprocal ban for 4 countries.
• Tunisia imposes stricter entry requirements.
• Russia withdraws some of the COVID-19 restrictions.
• International students opting for studies in New Zealand plummeted by 62% in 2021.
• Australia opens its borders for newly-arrived visa holders after nearly two years. 

ASIA UPDATES: India Issues New Travel Rules For International Travellers

• Considering the new travel rules issued by India, international travellers would need to compulsorily update their health status on Air Suvidha portal before boarding the flight. Also, the country has recently deferred the suspension of international scheduled commercial flights until January 21, 2022. 
• After a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh kickstarted the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams for the academic year 2020-21 while maintaining hygiene rules. 
• Philippines higher education institutions located under Alert Levels 1, 2, and 3 can conduct self-assessment on their readiness and no longer need to apply for in-person education. However, only fully vaccinated students and staff will be allowed to attend in-person classes.
• To ease the burden of students, Malaysia is considering extending the moratorium on increased study course fees by private higher education institutions.
• Vietnam to allow resumption of regular commercial flights between the country and safe international destinations from January 1, 2022. 
• To help overseas students study in Japan, the Cultural Affairs Agency plans to enhance online Japanese lessons from 2022. 

AFRICA UPDATES: Tunisia Imposes Stricter Entry Requirements

• Ghana aims to go aggressive to boost the learning of science and technology-based courses across the country.
• Nigeria is mulling over reciprocal ban for 4 countries (Argentina, Britain, Canada, Saudi Arabia) by putting them on a red list. 
• Tunisia imposes stricter entry requirements and mulling over potential border closure to prevent another COVID-19 wave. 
• The number of cases of Omicron variant soars by 400% in South Africa. However, the effectiveness of the vaccine remains encouraging.
• As per the 2021 results of the Global Knowledge Index, Egypt at 53rd globally is the highest-ranked African country.
• The University of Ottawa, Canada, announces scholarships for African students, which will help students cover the partial cost of university tuition fees. 

To help you stay abreast of all the education-related news and development in the African region, the MLEC Africa team of in-house experts have curated the monthly report. Click here to download the full report. 

EURASIA UPDATES: Russia Withdraws A Few COVID-19 Restrictions

• Amid public outrage, Russia withdraws some of the COVID-19 restrictions.
• Turkey and Azerbaijan to establish a joint university in Azerbaijan.
• To ramp up vaccination rates in the country, Hungary announced a vaccination campaign where prior registration and appointment booking is not required.

STUDY DESTINATIONS UPDATE: UK To Remove All Countries From The Red List

• The UK aims to remove all the countries from the red list, which means people travelling from these countries will no longer need to isolate themselves in a hotel approved by the government. However, temporary testing measures for international travellers will continue to remain in effect. 
• As per UCAS statistics, there has been a 19% increase in undergraduate non-European Union international students accepting admission in Welsh universities.
• New H-1B visa bill proposes to eliminate Optional Practical Training (OPT), through which international students can be employed in the US for up to 3 years. This can make foreign students and workers hiring difficult for American companies. 
• Australia opens its borders for newly-arrived visa holders after nearly two years. Currently, fully vaccinated skilled workers and international students can travel to the country without a travel exemption. 
• According to the data by Immigration New Zealand, international students opting for higher studies in New Zealand plummeted by 62% as compared to the previous year.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• For International Recruitment Solutions: https://worldeduconnect.com/
• Maple Assist curated Blog: https://www.mapleassist.com/blogs/
• Maple Assist Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXFhQ5_uIF4cQLidiOO_m-Q