At this time, students across the state are just about done with, or on the last leg of, their final
exams. Over the weeks and months ahead, several of them will be taking off for
different cities across the country and the world, in pursuit of higher education.
While Goan students have been migrating for academic purposes since the time of
the Portuguese, it is apparent that the trend is on the uptick today.
What’s the rationale that lies behind Goan students’ decisions
to leave the comforts of home and home-state? The reasons, we learn, range from
academic ambition to a personal desire to grow up and develop a sense of
independence.
For many of the students we spoke to, who migrated for higher
education within the last few years, independence and the experience of living
away from home were the major incentives behind their decision. “The most
important reason for my leaving Goa was that I felt it was time to leave the
comfort of home and start venturing out into the ‘big bad world’. I’d gotten
rather tired of leading a pretty cushy life in Goa,” quips Anjali Mascarenhas,
presently pursuing her MA in English at St Joseph’s College (Autonomous),
Bangalore.
And whether it was a primary motivation or not, this inevitable
sense of independence became something that each student now counts as a major
benefit of leaving home. Kavya Allaparthi, currently pursuing her Masters of
Management at University of Melbourne, Australia, says, “I travelled alone and
have no family in Melbourne. This led me to learn a lot of things on my own.
It’s made me responsible and brought a lot of discipline to the way I live my
daily life.”
The other major motivation behind students’ decision to leave,
tilts towards academic interests – be it choice of field, course or college.
Shannon D’Souza found that the field that she wanted to do her Masters in,
Biomedical Sciences Research, had greater scope in the UK, where she studied at
the University of Bristol, than at home in Goa. Similarly, Tejaswini Loundo
chose to specialise in dance, pursuing a Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed
Media from Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Bangalore – a field that does
not have much scope in Goa at a higher level, she adds.
Anjali says that she chose her course largely due to the way the
syllabus was structured and the texts that it included, which appealed to her
more than what she would have studied had she stayed in Goa. Annalise Coelho
adds, “I wanted to experience the learning environment and infrastructure,
especially in terms of a research-oriented environment, that a university like
CHRIST (deemed to be university), Bangalore could offer me; thus I specifically
chose to do my MA in English with Communication Studies there.”
Each of the students has found that they have benefited greatly,
in terms of academics, from their decision to leave Goa to pursue their
respective courses, with Frederica Coelho, pursuing her MA in English at St
Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bangalore, adding, “I’ve benefited from the
great amount of exposure that it’s given me, both in terms of the kinds of
educational events and conferences we get to attend, as well as exposure to a
different academic culture. The methods of studying and research here are more
elaborate and varied. And the high level of competition here, among students
from all over the country, also helps me strive to do better.”
Advantages apart, the students admit that leaving is not without
challenges, ranging from demanding courses to cultural differences to the
difficulties that come with living on one’s own for the first time. “The
unfamiliarity can be rather disorienting and that coupled with not having
family around, can make for a few very homesick days. Also, food – at times
south Indian food – is really not what I want to eat after a tiring day!” says
Anjali. Annalise took time to adjust to her hectic course, while Shannon and
Kavya, having both moved abroad, experienced a “culture shock” coupled with
homesickness in being so far away from friends and family.
Concerns about unfamiliar places also come into play, with
Tejaswini saying, “The kind of freedom I have in Goa to roam about is much less
in Bangalore, because I hardly know the city. And being a woman, I sometimes
feel unsafe in Bangalore, maybe because the culture, society, people are different
from those in Goa.” Frederica adds, “Having lived in Goa my entire life and
being used to a place that is green and peaceful, Bangalore was more of a
challenge with its crammed buildings and sirens blaring all night.”
However, in spite, or perhaps even because, of the challenges
(and the strength developed to overcome them, as Frederica adds), the students
agree that leaving home for higher education is worth it. And the benefits are
not limited to academics and individual growth alone. “Studying abroad helped
me learn how to strike a balance between social and professional life, both of
which are equally needed, and how to find the people that I can vibe with,”
Kavya mentions. Annalise adds, “I’ve met so many amazing people and made a lot
of friends and I’ve had opportunities to travel and explore new places –
opportunities I might not have seized had I been living at home still.”
We’ve
all come across books and online blogs telling us that one of the things that
youngsters in their twenties must do, one of those great ‘growing-up’
experiences, is leaving home for unfamiliar climes. For these students, truer
words have never been spoken, with them adding that “Goa will always be home,
but the entire world is our oyster!”