The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Students willing to consider new options for quality international education

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 14, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Students willing to consider new options for quality international education

Special Correspondent

“They are able to compare course options, lifestyles and costs”

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Students visiting The Hindu EducationPlus International Education Fair 2008 at Hotel Taj Connemara in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: Indian students are breaking boundaries in their quest for a quality international education. From the traditional destinations of the U.K. and the U.S., students are willing to consider a range of new options from Australia, Singapore and Dubai to interesting combinations like a British degree offered in Singapore or an Indian medical college in the Philippines.

For Chennai students considering their choices, The Hindu Education Plus International Education Fair offered a plethora of information. “I’m not yet sure which country I want to study in. It helps to have all the options in one place,” said Roshina Tharakan, who was searching for a post-graduate degree in public relations.

“Students have been asking me to give them my opinion of an Australian education in comparison with the other options they see in the stalls right next to mine,” said Nick Shaw, international marketing manager for the University of Tasmania. “They are able to compare course options, lifestyles and costs between the countries.”

The fair is being held in the Taj Connemara hotel on Friday and Saturday. Over 870 students have already visited the stalls of the 20 universities participating in the fair. Including parents and friends, the total footfall at the fair on Day One was about 1,900.

Inaugurating the event on Friday, The Hindu’s Editor-in-Chief N. Ram said the gamut of choices could be extended even further — next year, he hoped to see the inclusion of Russian and Chinese institutions, which have been catering to the Indian hunger for medical education, as well as the prestigious Oxbridge institutions.

Events such as this fair underscored The Hindu’s commitment to attracting young readers through a focus on education, he said. “It is a matter of social responsibility as well as self-interest,” he said. Evidence shows that mature media markets find it tough to hook the young, and Indian newspapers, which are still in a growing market phase, have been courting the readers of the future as well. “Some papers engage the young through entertainment, a page 3 culture…We do that as well, but at the core of our commitment is activity around education. I regard it as our highest priority as a newspaper,” he said.

Event sponsor State Bank of India is another established institution that is using educational activity to attract young customers, according to Chief General Manager J. Chandrasekaran. The bank is offering education loans up to a maximum of Rs. 20 lakh to students at the fair, and over 300 students picked up applications in the course of the day.

Apart from the stalls, Saturday’s schedule includes seminars beginning from 11 a.m. While the U.K. visa counselling system and U.S. education will be the topics dealt with in the morning, the afternoon will see presentations on Australian, British and Singaporean educational opportunities.

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