Not
too long ago, it was rare to see a student with their entire future
planned out, eager to fly the nest as soon as they finished their
higher secondary studies. Most would trudge through college before
making any concrete plans. But that isn’t the case anymore.
Nowadays, youngsters are quite sure of which avenue they wish to
pursue and they make their plans when still in school. But is the
desire to venture out only fueled by the pursuit of education? Or is
there more to it?
Nikita
Kavlekar from Vasco, who did a course in fashion designing at the
School of Fashion Designing in Pune, says, “I did look for a course
that would give me practical understanding as well as theoretic
knowledge here in Goa itself, but to no avail. In Pune, professionals
from that particular field were part of the faculty, hence we not
only learnt from them in class, but got first-hand experience by
working with them, side by side. Also, if you choose to stay in your
home state, it can be difficult to source study material or equipment
required for projects.”
Another
ambitious student, Naitik Jain, who is currently in his first year
BSc Finance at Durham University, United Kingdom, says, “There
are plenty of reasons for a student to opt
to go abroad to study post 12th. One
key reason is
university ranking. Universities based abroad have a better and
higher world ranking as
compared
to Indian universities. Also, the quality of education abroad is
better than the quality in India. I personally chose to study abroad
due to the course content and also due to better opportunities on
completion of my course. Getting placed with a foreign degree is
easier than getting placed with a domestic (Indian) degree.”
Adding
to this, his mother, Rina Jain, says, “Some of them move out of
state for better career options. For instance, a medical student will
appear for AIPMT
all India medical.
It depends from student to student.”
Courses
abroad also come with placement benefits, hence providing ample
opportunities to the students on completion of their course. “Today,
students are wise enough to chose the right institute that will
forward their goals. They thoroughly research possible options,
facilities and faculty, alumni even, before making their decision.
Courses like IIT, IIM, Aviation and specialised subjects like
Aerospace, etc are unavailable here, hence they have no option other
than to venture out,” says Kapil Salgaonkar, Panjim.
While
most claim that they leave home in search of quality education, there
are those who feel differently. Sapna Naik from Cortalim says, “It
has come to our notice that several students step out of the state,
following the footsteps of their friends. It’s less about quality
education and more the desire to experience hostel life and explore
new places.”
Manisha
Salkar, fashion designer, says, “I strongly feel that the reason
students opt to go abroad for further studies is in order to fulfill
their parents’ wishes. I have seen parents who push their children
to go out and study. Parents think that there are no career options
and courses available here, which is a wrong notion. For example,
BITS Pilani has students coming from Dubai to study. First parents
should encourage their kids to discover what they are passionate
about and then let them pursue it, no matter where it takes them.”
