Trend of going abroad for studies growing

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Mohammad Wazed Ali | Published: August 27, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

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The number of Bangladeshi students going abroad for studies has been on the rise over the years, sources have said.
 According to them, some factors including career opportunities, better education system and inadequate job opportunities at home are encouraging many students to go abroad to pursue higher studies and finally settle there.
Informed circles said the number of outbound Bangladeshi students has been increasing at the rate of around 10 to 12 per cent over the last four to five years.
They also said, in 2015, around 35,000 to 40,000 students went abroad for higher education and the number may significantly increase this year.
"This year, we are noticing a significant rise as in 2015. About 150 students went to different countries through our firm. But now in the last 7 months around 140 students already left. We are also witnessing interest of more students who are seeking assistance for admission to different institutions across the world", said Md. Julfikar Ali, Chief Executive Officer of CSB Education.
 Mr Julfikar Ali said most of the students especially go to Malaysia, the USA, Germany, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, China, the UK and India.
About 50 per cent of the total students went to Malaysia and the USA.
"Preference of countries has also changed to a great extent. Five/six years ago, a large number of Bangladeshi students preferred to go to the UK but now, Malaysia, the USA, Australia and some European countries are the most favoured destinations", he added.
Shafiqul Islam, Managing Director of Global Study Consultancy, said Bangladeshi students consider some important factors while looking for overseas destinations for pursuing higher education. These include low cost of living, scholarship and funding opportunities, low tuition fees, work permit alternative, flexibility in international testing exams, world-class institutions and availability of kiths and kins there.
"A large number of students go there with scholarships and funding opportunities by securing good scores in international standardised tests but sons and daughters of wealthy people, political leaders and businessman also go abroad with their own funding," he added.
Students must have good scores in required international standardised tests to get admitted to world-class institutions and to seize scholarships and funding opportunities, he said.
Some of the well-accepted international standardised tests are the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), Pearson Test of English (PTE) and Cambridge English Advanced Test (CAE).
Sources also said about 65 per cent students fly abroad for master's degree and diploma programmes, 25 per cent for undergraduate programmes and 10 per cent for PHD programmes from the country.
However, prominent educationalist, Vice-Chancellor of Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) and professor of the Institute of Education and Research of Dhaka University Prof. Dr. M Wahiduzzaman told the FE that though the number of students going abroad for pursuing higher education is increasing, in terms of total students, the number is not very significant.
"That the students going abroad for higher education is a good sign. But it is frustrating when we see some students deviating from the right path or not concentrating on their studies properly there", Mr Wahiduzzaman added.
He said many affluent guardians send their children abroad for undergraduate studies but they are not aware of what their children are doing there or whether they are on the right track or not.
"However, we witnessed Master's degree and PhD students doing well compared to the undergraduate students.  We should give them an opportunity to come back after successfully completing their programmes and contribute to the development of the country", he said.
"From NSTU, I also sent a lot of faculties for PhD and I encourage my graduate students, if possible, to go abroad but after completion, they must contribute to their respective sectors at home," Mr Wahiduzzaman added.
However, studying abroad is often seen as the first step toward emigration.
In the USA, according to the data of the US National Science Foundation's Survey, 80 per cent or more students from Bangladesh and other Asian countries who complete their Master's degree and PhD programmes in the US stay back in that country.
Better salaries and facilities, easier access to research funds and working on cutting-edge topics are some of the factors that lead Bangladeshi students, completing their studies, to settle abroad.
     wazeddu@yahoo.com