Irish Universities are making use of International students to generate profit

International students in Ireland started protesting against Irish universities.

International students allege that Covid glued them to Ireland and they are unable to return home during the crisis and that universities are using them to make a profit.

Some students say they have been waiting for months for a refund, but have not yet received it.

Many of the international students have been booked in advance for accommodation and are stranded in Ireland because of the backlog of Garda National Immigration Bureau rules.

As a result, students will not be able to leave the country until they receive their Irish residency permit cards. The problem is that if you leave the country you will not be able to come back because you did not get the permit.

There has been a great deal of concern among students about isolation in society and mental health. He also complained that he could not see his classmates in person.

Clara Schenk, an international student at UCC, says universities should work harder to help international students.

Clara came to Ireland from Luxembourg to study for a degree in criminology. Clara said most classes are now conducted online. She is also concerned whether regular classes that are supposed to be conducted directly might switch to online.

Clara calls on universities to provide distance learning for students from outside Europe and for universities to do more to help international students.

Clara says the university has failed to provide adequate accommodation and by the time she applied for the course in June, the university-owned dormitories were full.

At the same time, officials said in a statement that the UCC is committed to providing a viable learning environment in line with current public health guidelines.

The university added that students coming for study should apply for a multi-entry visa, which will allow students to return to their home country without completing the IRP process.

At the same time, Saikrishna Javvadi from India says that colleges only need international students because of the high fees.

Saikrishna is paying 20,750 euros as fees for a one-year data analytics master’s fee at NUI Galway. The first semester of this is completely online.

According to Saikrishna, students spend money on accommodation, travel and full fees in the belief that they can study directly from colleges.

He said many international students would not have joined the course if they had known that the courses were conducted online.

If students come to Ireland for international exposure this year, they will not get it. Sai added that if he had known the situation, he would have taken other low-cost online courses.

Sai is also stranded in Ireland in the wake of the Covid crisis and will not be able to return as he has signed a one-year contract and made a deposit.

With bars, cafes and restaurants closed, there is concern about getting a part-time job. Sai added that he had shared his concerns about the fees with the college authorities but they had not given due consideration to it.

Sarah Carter, an American PhD student at NUI Galway’s School of Engineering, says international students are not able to get along with each other because classes are online, and most are ready to go out to see their classmates after the quarantine.

Most of the students are isolated in different parts of Galway. Students are stranded in many places as they are unable to meet with immigration to get an IRP card. Students who want to return to Ireland are facing difficulties as the IRP cannot be renewed.

Sarah said they were not getting the support they needed from the university side and were being forced to pay 300 euros for an IRP card but were not getting a reasonable time for the meeting.

Sarah alleges that the Irish government’s strategy of not providing the necessary funds for the education sector is to charge high fees from international students. The third level education system in Ireland cannot be carried forward with the money of international students.

At the same time, NUI Galway said in a statement that it would provide all necessary support to the studies of their international students during this Covid crisis.

Officials said the international office at NUI Galway is scheduled to meet with GNIB for registration in the coming weeks and students should contact [email protected] if they have any doubts about immigration.