Of the 5,000 registered users of the study abroad platform Leverage Edu, 94 per cent of Indian students are more keen to travel and study abroad this year compared to last year. The survey was conducted in the last five months. 75 per cent of the respondents chose the UK as their preferred study destination. Canada and the US were chosen by 13 per cent and 9 per cent of the respondents respectively.
Graphics by V Visveswaran
Pro-student policies
Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder of Leverage Edu, said,“The UK, the US, and Canada, have come up with numerous pro-student policies in the last year. Universities have supported international students by providing waivers and relaxation on various requirements — Indian students have been added to the US’s travel exemption list, the UK and India have signed a migration and mobility partnership, and Canada is to give additional 90,000 international students permanent residence. There were concerns over visa appointments when the top metro cities went under a lockdown in India, but that has eased off over the last eight to ten days as well.”
“Primarily, this is a result of Governments in the UK, the US, and other developed countries, opening up their higher education and immigration policies, and communicating in far more welcoming manner than before. The access to early vaccinations, basic healthcare infrastructure, and quality of air, which were previously little-understood, have gained relevance post the second wave in India,” added Chaturvedi.