International students in Ireland from countries including India are in deep distress and frustration
DUBLIN: International students from countries including India, who are aiming for a better education, are in a state of despair and distress. Students who left their homeland for higher education in Ireland have never been lucky enough to see even the doors of college or university. Their campus is a room found in an unfamiliar place in another country. All they do now is eating and attending online classes…!
There has been no change in the practice of colleges and universities charging heavy fees, even for online classes. This makes the lives of children more miserable. The number of children coming to Ireland during the pandemic was declining. This had led to a significant drop in the revenue of universities and colleges across the country.
Most of the students are still unable to go to campus this year. Institutions charge huge sums of money in the name of tuition fees. But the students reveal that there is no significant tuition going on and they are not getting any thrill of campus life.
Students who eat and study in one room often find comfort in their sleep. Many students have set aside the dream of a part-time job. They realized that it was not an opportunity to find a job.
Most students find it difficult to study because of remote learning. Many are struggling to do projects and the like as part of the course. Many students testify that international students are now suffering serious isolation. This is mainly due to online learning.
Kushal Bahirwani, a 22-year-old student from India, said he would have been relieved if the fees had been lower. Kushal came to Ireland last September to do a Masters Degree in Information Systems Management at the Cairns School of Business, NUI Galway.
“I chose Galway because I saw that the rate of COVID was very low in July and August last year and I thought Ireland is the place to be.
“The one-year Masters course is costing around €17,300 – that’s just the tuition fee. My accommodation adds up to over €12,000. On top of living expenses I pay another €1,000 for my visa documentation, so the total amounts to over €30,000 and in return I get very little,” he explained.
Kushal received a letter from the college last summer asking him to be physically present at the campus. It was suggested that accommodation be booked in advance and that an in-built campus study be started.
“I really thought the lab classes would be on campus because physical presence is so important for this work. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Honestly, I feel helpless right now because the college hasn’t being doing much. We get a lot of emails and I appreciate that but not much else has been done yet,” Kushal said.
NUIG Students’ Union accuses fraud
Padraic Toomey, President of the Students’ Union at NUI Galway, said that it was a big fraud not to offer campus classes to international students who came to Ireland for huge fees.
“They are paying thousands more in fees than any Irish or EU students. So it was unfair that they were told to come here and get accommodation before finding out that all everything was going to be online,” Padraic said.
“I don’t think it was a good idea for the college to recommend getting accommodation when it was so unpredictable. Nobody knew and it was short-sighted.
“These students can be paying €10,000, €20,000. There’s no limit on the fees like Irish and EU students where there’s a limit of around €3,000 for an undergraduate, while that limit is not there at all for international students and then it’s even more for post grads. You will see crazy high fees there,” he said.
NUI Galway with explanation
Neither NUI Galway nor the Irish Universities Association responded directly to the issue. However NUIG issued the following written statement:
“The University shares the frustrations of our students that the vast majority of campus activities are being delivered remotely, however the safety of our community is our number one priority.
“We’ve seen in recent weeks among our community how virulent the new strains of the virus are, highlighting the need for us all to reduce our contacts as much as possible, and keep as much activity online as possible.
“While we had hoped that the national situation would have facilitated more campus-time this year, courses are still being delivered to the highest standards and all learning objectives are being met.
“We all regret that the social aspects of life have been curtailed this year, and we thank our students for continuing to follow the public health advice.”
Don’t rush, just wait
Indian students who have reached out to most campuses in Ireland share a similar experience. Students in Ireland share the same opinion that it is enough to fly for the desire to study abroad after the COVID-19 crisis.
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