AUG’22 WRAP-UP EDITION

The latest news and updates in higher education across the globe

POPULAR STUDY DESTINATION UPDATES

France | Witnesses impressive growth in study visas

After falling by 17% in 2020, the number of study visas showed impressive growth of 25% in 2021. With close to 365,000 international students in France for 2021, it is a 3% increase over the pre-pandemic level in 2019. Read more here

Germany | Increases amount required for a blocked bank account for student visa

The country increased the amount of money required to deposit in a blocked bank account to open the latter with a bank in Germany. Starting from January 1, 2023, students now need a total of €11,208 in their account to obtain a German student visa or to extend their student residence permit, an increase of 8.5% from the current €10,332. Read more here

United States | Gen Z most likely to distrust the higher education 

Among the four-generation groups surveyed by Morning Consult,  Gen Z  (ages 18-25) are the least likely to trust U.S. colleges and universities for higher education. 41% of this cohort intended to trust colleges, while 35% did not trust higher education. Read more here

United Kingdom | Resume priority visa services

The UK has resumed some priority visa and super priority visa services to allow incoming international students to pay extra for a faster decision on their application ahead of the new academic year in September. This would help students receive their visas in as short as 24 hours. Read more here

Australia | Increases the number of years overseas students can work after studies

The Australian government increases post-study work rights for tens of thousands of overseas students graduating from Australian universities in industries with the skills shortage. Read more here

Canada | Risks losing its edge on international student recruitment 

International students are left high and dry over visa delays because of Canadian immigration backlogs. Many students are unsure if they’ll make it in time for the fall semester. Canadian universities warn of losing their edge on international student recruitment due to visa delays. Read more here

ASIA UPDATES

• The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 will reorient India’s education policy as per global benchmarks.

• According to the recent data published by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), 155 Vietnamese educational institutions welcomed more than 45,000 international students between 2016 and 2021. Close to 27% of students in Vietnam were part of exchange students under agreements between Vietnam and other countries.
• 148 Pakistani students gear up to pursue studies in Hungarian universities under the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Program. 
•  The Philippines joins five other countries (Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore) to remove the requirement of proof of vaccination for higher education institution (HEI) students and personnel.
• Saudi Arabia and Singaporean ministers discuss prospects of enhancing cooperation in scientific research and public, university and digital education.
• 60 Nepali students will pursue higher education in Europe in 2022 under Erasmus+ scholarships. This is an increase of 22.4% from last year.
• Bangladesh and South Korea to strengthen cooperation in the field of education.

AFRICA UPDATES

• The US Embassy in Nairobi has changed its visa application process to address the wearisome application backlogs. This will relieve Kenyan students studying in the US, as they don’t have to wait endlessly for their US visa applications.
• The European Union offers postgraduate scholarships to over 200 Nigerians in top European universities under its flagship educational programme, Erasmus+. This places Nigeria second after Pakistan in terms of the number of students selected for the prestigious programme in 2022.
• The dreams of many students in Tanzania to pursue specialised courses such as medicine and health sciences are being dashed as demand exceeds college intake capacity. Approx. 19,287 applicants were eligible for selection, but the institution only selected 866 students, meaning that 18,421 applicants missed out.
• Sub-Saharan Africa saw the most significant increase in its international students to France. The number increased by 41% in the last five years, and its current share of the total number of international students in France stands at 24%.  
• As per the UN report on Ethiopia’s education for April-June’22, conflict, food insecurity, and natural disasters force more than 2.9 m children out of school.
• Rwanda and the World Bank have signed an additional education deal worth $129 million (over Rwf134bn) to support the government’s efforts to improve teacher competence and student retention.

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