Student's corner

Dear Students, 

LAST WEEK WE ASKED:   

Should there be a monitoring agency for overseas education consultants?  

BEST RESPONSE   

Few recent cases of illegal immigration of Indian students-turned-workers, give us a food of thought that it's a waste of talent and breach of laws. These agents are third-party mediators in a highly fragmented industry wherein their activities don't go monitored. If at all they can be removed in order to continue with smooth foreign admissions, there is no better solution. Since it's not feasible for students to get direct admission, due to lack of information and individual capacities, government's intervention is necessary to minimise abuse of student immigration. Establishing a supreme institution for authenticating all the processes is the key. 

 

- Ridim Agarwal, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI), Ahmedabad 

OTHER RESPONSES   

There should be a monitoring agency for overseas education consultants to help students. It is difficult for students to acquire knowledge of overseas education. So a monitoring agency can provide a helping hand by verifying consultants. At times students may get trapped by fake consultants so an agency like this can surely guide students for a secure admission. 

- Shivam Chhabra, Integral University, Lucknow 

There should be a stringent set of rules and regulations for overseas consultants to ensure that students do not get cheated in the process.The number of scams in our country affecting us leaves a bad taste. However, student's facing them are often most neglected and the hardest hit. The dreams turning to dust can be a hard blow on students who will be emotionally and financially drained post a negative experience. Consultants should be monitored by a government-controlled agency to avoid cheating the 'future beneficiaries' of the country. 

- Ruam Mukherjee, PGDRM, Indian Institute of Social Welfare & Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata 

With the increase in number of people interested in getting degree abroad there is a simultaneous increase in the number of fraudsters. With the mushrooming of number of education consultants, a close monitoring is required in order to separate the genuine ones from the rest. When any student in India goes out for study he/she not only puts his/her future on stake but also the fortune of his/her whole family. The interests of such bright brains need to be protected. 

- Rajeev Upadhyay, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Management Batch, Mumbai 

With the repeat of students getting attacked in Australia in 2009, and now counterfeit universities in the US and the UK the clamor for monitoring agency for overseas education consultants is growing. Monitoring agency will help to to prohibit foreign universities from recruiting agents and saving Indian students from getting swindled.  This will also solve the problem of an acute lack of information, especially in the smaller towns, about foreign universities where students can get legitimate degrees. At the same time, a lot of foreign universities can use overseas education consultants to tap genuine students in India and can ward off consultants or middlemen. 

- Nilaya Mitsah Shanker, Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial College Of Engineering And Management (SRMCEM), Lucknow 

Overseas education has gained momentum due to increasing domestic competition. Also,'foreign return' is still being considered as a status symbol.  Promises of hassle free admission, false and incomplete information by the agencies and the ease of getting visa  blinds the students and they fail to make a rational judgement about the university, its accreditation and placements. Gullible students often get duped which definitely calls for stringent laws and policies to govern overseas education consultants. 

- Ankita Bansal, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida (NCR) 

For education in overseas, students do require overseas consultants so that the consultants can advice them which institution and course that suits best for students. I believe that there should be monitoring agency for overseas consultants since most of the agents are taking advantage of the students and sending them without visa confirmation. By this students are also being tortured overseas. Through a monitoring agency, some rules and standards will come into picture so that agents do provide authenticity to students. Agents do have up-to-date information regarding the condition of overseas so they are the best advisors for students. 

- B Naga Saroja, Amity Business School, Noida 

The decision of choosing overseas education is a difficult business as students have to decide what type of institutions, courses they should opt for in order to have a better future prospects. Monitoring agency can ensure that agents provide students up-to-date information about institutes and courses available abroad as they have vast experience of it. They also help in application and visa process. They make students comfortable by ensuring that agents provide best quality services as well as ways to deal with racism and other problems generally faced by students going for the first time away from their home. 

- Kirti Vatsa, MBA 2010-12, Amity Business School, Noida 

Government should aim to address known deficiencies in the higher education marketplace through the adoption of ethical standards and enforceable certification of recruitment agencies.  Government should set up a monitoring agency and all educational consultants should become members of a forum created and established for  them and the agents must pay a membership fee and maintain ethical conduct to remain in good standing. 

- A Bhuvana Bhimaiah, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 

Overseas educational consultancy is dedicated towards providing services to Indian students in making educational avenues abroad accessible to them. Education programs abroad have always fascinated the Indian students. While in the British period, the favorite destination used to be UK, at present the number of favorite education destinations of the Indian students has multiplied. Hence the role of monitoring agencies is very important to provide authentic guidance to students, to protect their rights and to prevent frauds taking place for higher education overseas. 

- Ashu Malik, BIMHRD, Pune 

Some students from small towns, not so educated families are driven by only one motive-to go abroad, having a mindset that everything is good outside home country. On their part, consultants take undue advantage of this fact and don't reveal the actual standard of certain universities and cheat several students. A man is known by the career path he follows, and certain consultants ruin the whole journey. 

- Surbhi Bhuddi, Amity Business School, Noida 

Overseas consultants are supposed to guide students, but there have been various incidents where students are misguided in order to earn more profit. Despite this there have been cases of frauds. Thus, it's the basic duty of the parents to check the background of consultants, and there should be a monitoring agency so as to make students feel safe. This also gives a psychological satisfaction to them that no wrong can happen. 

- Mayank Nandwani, Amity Business School, Noida 

Monitoring agency should be setup by the Government of India. It is a well known fact that some of the educational consultants play with the career of students, particularly those who hail from Tier – I and Tier – II cities. The prospective students are unaware about the malpractices of these educational consultants and they are only focusing to reach the 'lucrative world of overseas education' as soon as possible. In this whole process, they finally end up losing their precious money, valuable time and big dreams. Therefore, it's high time for the government to setup a monitoring agency to safeguard students from such corruptive issues. 

- Kartik Bansal, Amity Business School, Noida 

Your responses should reach us at edu@businessstandard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute’s name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the ‘Best Response’ will be awarded Rs 500.  

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: 
Do you think offering three attempts to clear IIT entrance exam is a good move?