EDUCONNECT ASIA 28 October 2020

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INDIA: LATEST UPDATES

To date, 7,201,070 people have recuperated from COVID-19 in India. India’s recovery rate continues to rise and now stands at 90.62% while its fatality rate has dropped to 1.5%.

‘Unlock 5.0’ guidelines issued in September will be in place until 30 November. As per the Unlock 5 rules, educational institutions must not insist on regular attendance and instead allow pupils to continue studying in the online mode. Several state governments have decided to reopen schools and Test Prep centers after 15October in a graded manner. Students will not be forced to attend classes; it will depend entirely on parental consent. This year, assessments in the form of role plays, choreography, quizzes, puzzles and games, brochure designing, journals, portfolios, etc. may be preferred over routine pen-paper testing. Higher educational institutions can reopen only for Ph.D. and Master students in Science and Technology streams that require experimental and lab work.

India is now the fourth biggest producer of scientific research in the world, behind China, US and UK. India’s research output has overtaken Germany’s for the first time and is fast catching up to that of UK. Elsevier’ SciVal database shows that India published 187,000 academic papers in 2019, depicting an increase of 5%. The country still needs to work on improving the quality of its research output.

The list of countries not allowing Indian tourists has narrowed down. Although India has an air bubble agreement with 18 countries, there are still a few countries where Indian nationals are not allowed to travel. Even after agreements, Indians are currently  unable to visit Italy, Malaysia, China, Bhutan, South Africa, Hong Kong and Germany.

SUBCONTINENT & SOUTHEAST ASIA UPDATES

Pakistan: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has awarded the Allama Iqbal Scholarship to 91 Sri Lankan students to study in Pakistani universities for Fall-2020/Spring-2021 sessions, under the Pak-Sri Lanka Higher Education Cooperation Programme. The Big Heart Foundation, a global humanitarian charity, is implementing five humanitarian projects in Pakistan. Funding of more than US$1 million will be utilized to support the nation’s educational infrastructure.

Bangladesh: Schools and other educational institutions in Bangladesh are unlikely to reopen in November, as previously proposed, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Bangladesh has so far reported 390,206 cases with 5699 deaths.

Nepal:  The Government of Nepal has closed educational institutions indefinitely to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alternative teaching methods are the only option to continue students’ learning. One of several activities organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Centre for Education and Human Resource Development in response to COVID-19 was to conduct a two-phase training on alternative teaching methods. The training provided guidance on how to deliver lessons online, as well as via radio and television mediums.

Sri Lanka: The much-awaited, much delayed, 2019 A/L Zscore cut-off marks were released on 26 October. University Grants Commission plans to enroll about 41,000 students in universities, and 371 more students will be admitted to medical faculties alone. The university intakes for degrees such as Engineering and Medicine have increased this year.

Vietnam: The Vietnam Institute of Arts Education (VIA Education) has made its debut in Ho Chi Minh City with the aim to build a sustainable, vibrant, active, and inspiring arts community that seeks to develop optimal standards in arts and creative education.

Philippines: Remote learning has begun for elementary and High school students. Nearly 25 million students have enrolled this year, in about 47000 public schools nationwide. The Community Learning Hub program was formally launched, which provides the students with alternative learning spaces to access important learning tools and gadgets.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: TOP STUDY DESTINATIONS

USA

  • According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Centre report, the number of students transferring from US community colleges to four-year institutions rose 2.6% year-over-year this fall after the rate being flat in 2019. Transfers between the same level of institutions fell 8.3% year-over-year, and transfers of four-year students to community colleges has plummeted by 18.4%.
  • A new association- the Global Alliance of International Student Advancement has been launched to champion international students as they face issues related to “Covid-19, government hostility and widespread institutional neglect”. 

UK

  • UCAS, the UK’s university admissions service which manages a lion’s share of the country’s undergraduate applications, has announced a bold new move to work with the international postgraduate student market.
  • UUKi, in their report on the future of research and innovation in the UK, has laid out a series of recommendations on how the Government, funding bodies, and institutions can expand and capitalize on researchers’ international links “to attract talent and business investment from overseas”.
  • The UK government has announced that it will establish a global travel task force to help tackle the challenges on international travel by COVID-19.

Australia

  • Institutions in Australia are offering tuition fee discounts to students who are currently offshore and learning remotely. Following the example of Western Sydney University, Bond University, and Griffith University, the University of Adelaide has also announced a 20% fee rebate for students who could not return to Australia.

Japan

  • Immigration Services Agency in Japan is currently preparing for a new start-up visa which allows graduate students from Japanese universities to stay in Japan for up to two years in order to set-up new businesses.  .

Malaysia

  • EduCity, which hosts international campuses, is looking to establish a transit hub that allows students to enroll with international institutions in a “conducive learning environment” while the travel restrictions prevent them from studying overseas.

MAPLE INITIATIVES

  • 22-23 October: Maple Assist collaborated with Durham College for a 2-part webinar series this month, reaching out to prospective students in India, as well as neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Both events were well attended, saw over 1000 registrations, and had over 150 queries answered by Durham College South East Asia representative Zeeshan Kamal.
  • Upcoming: Maple Assist is hosting the Scotiabank- Agent Connect this Friday, 30 October. The event aims to connect the bank with stakeholders in South Asia directly. Agents and counsellors based out India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal are welcome to attend and hear from Scotiabank about their GIC process, other products, and information on banking in Canada for international students. Vino Hentsmogan, Senior Manager, New to Canada Strategy will present and answer queries.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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