Study, work abroad plans may go for a toss
This is a time when both, the public body and soul are being tested on an epic scale, and it is especially true for students. On the one hand, they are staring at an uncertain future and on the other, they are being consumed with anxiety in the present. Some of them have hung up their boots while others have been forced to defer their plans because of the lockdown. Vailankani Rozario, a final-year student of the Bachelor of Law (LLB) programme, planning to go to Canada, said, "I am compelled to give up my dream of going abroad this year because my final year exams have been cancelled due to the pandemic. I wanted to prepare for the IELTS language test and start my visa application process by August. I can only apply once I get my final-year result. But right now, I don't even have clarity on whether my exams are cancelled or postponed or if and when I will get my results or complete my course."
The last three years of the LLB programme have not been as stressful as these last three months of lockdown, claimed Rozario. She said, "I am stuck because of this degree, as I cannot even prepare for anything. Were it not for this lockdown, I would have got my results by July and applied for my visa. But right now, I do not even know when I will get my result. I have pushed all my plans to nowhere, as I am neither able to arrange funding or undertake documentation work."
On the other hand, there are some students who have secured admission to foreign universities, paid whopping fees and cleared tests but do not know if they will get to pursue those higher degrees. Chinmay Ravindran, a student who has received an admission offer for an MBA programme abroad, said, "I received an offer for a two-year MBA programme in Januar y, af ter clearing a tough selection round. My programme begins on September 1 but how am I supposed to travel without a visa, as visa offices are closed and students cannot undertake international travel? Considering the alarming number of coronavirus cases in Mumbai, what are the chances I will get to fly out any time soon?"
But his outlook remains optimistic, as he has paid his first year fees and applied for a visa. "I have worked hard for this admission, so I paid my first-year fees. I even applied online for my visa and I have been informed to go to a biometrics centre within 90 days. But biometrics and visa application centres are shut in Mumbai. Not only are they shut, I do not even know when will they reopen. It is as if I have hit a dead end." In addition, Vishaka Prayan, a student who secured a job abroad in Auckland, New Zealand, said, "I prepared for almost a year to land this job. Now that I have it, I cannot even go for it because there are no international flights. I might lose my job because New Zealand has recovered from the coronavirus infection and expects me to join as soon as possible or they might give it to some other applicant."