Canada is considered to be ‘safe and stable’ for international students among the top countries and because of its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has further strengthened its status as the go-to’ study destination. This outcome is based on the two Navitas Insights surveys conducted recently.
Navitas is a leading global provider of education that has helped generations of students improve their lives through education. Navitas surveyed its worldwide agent network in May 2020 to examine how COVID-19 altered the fortunes of international study destinations.
Findings from the initial survey showed that the image of Canada as a study destination had been strengthened by the handling of the pandemic by its government. New Zealand, Australia and Canada were leading the pack at the time.
Navitas repeated its study in September 2020. It tried to understand how agent expectations have changed with the ongoing crisis of COVID-19 and what this could mean in the short to medium term for international education.
The results show that, overall, Canada has strengthened its position marginally. It now competes with the UK as opposed to Australia and New Zealand.
In fact, some steps have been implemented by Canada to allow foreign students to travel to their desired destination. The government has eased travel restrictions for international students from October 25.
However, Students can attend the Designated Learning Institutes (a college or university) that have COVID-19 preparedness plan and have gained approval from the provincial government in which the institution is located. Where the student is travelling from, does not matter.
The consistent performance of Canada is commendable. Canada is in second position behind New Zealand on the measure of the government’s handling of the corona-virus; similarly on the measure of being safe and stable. Canada is second only to the UK in terms of being open and welcoming.
