Foreign students are committed to studying abroad, despite travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, while face-to-face training is preferable to online courses as per the survey conducted by international education specialists at IDP Connect, IDP Education's B2B division. Most of the aspiring foreign students say the coronavirus pandemic does not stop them from pursuing their post-secondary education abroad.
Out of 6,900 foreign student applicants, some 69 per cent of the surveyed expect to start their studies as expected. Only five per cent said they would not go on studying any more. Among other Asian nations, the bulk of the participants came from India, China and Bangladesh. Such students' destination countries were Australia, Canada, the UK, the United States and New Zealand.
Most respondents said they'd rather postpone their study plans until face-to-face classes were available, primarily because the online alternative lacks the international exposure most hoped to achieve.
Simon Emmett, the CEO of IDP Connect, noted that 54 per cent, would be willing to postpone their studies for up to 12 months or less before pursuing other options. Thirty-one per cent of respondents would be able to start their online course and move on to face-to-face learning at a later date, but by far the biggest choice was to delay to January 2021 if that meant that face-to-face learning would be feasible.
Participants rated destination countries on a scale of 1-10 based on their expectations. While Australia and Canada were the vast majority of participants' favourite destination nations, Canada was highly regarded for its international student education and the nation's economic stability. Canada has also been seen as having the least prohibitive restrictions on travel.
Some universities are also expanding their facilities as Canadian provinces start pulling back coronavirus controls.
McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and Prince Edward Island Universities will begin their first phase of operations from May 11 and May 25 respectively by allowing researchers while promoting social distancing and working from home where ever possible. Everyone is expected to obey the University guidelines which involve adhering to the security procedures.
The second phase of Prince Edward Island University is scheduled to begin on June 15, after review of the first phase, where the number of people permitted on campus may be extended. The third phase, another expansion is scheduled to start August 1, where they will plan for the academic semester of fall.
