Some wise advice on education

It’s that time of the year again. Time to chase The Great Indian Dream: The Foreign Degree. Universities abroad receive thousands of applications from all over the world. Students prefer to apply to several colleges at once and the procedure can get very confusing. Enter the middleman: educational consultant agencies. The agencies complete and send the students’ paperwork to the universities and the universities simply sift through and make their selections. Other than the British Council and the United States Educational Foundation India (USEFI), Mumbai provides several options to its students.Edwise has two separate centres for UK colleges and US colleges. Many students are unsure of their course, reveals Tejal, a student counsellor. They are given the required information and invited to various seminars. Besides attending the university fairs that occur in February and November every year, Edwise organises in-house interviews for its students. These facilities are available for the foundation, under-graduate and post-graduate courses.EduWorld provides the same in addition to coaching classes for entrance examinations. Besides VISA counselling they guide their students on issues such as student insurance, foreign exchange, bank loans, travel bookings and even airport pick-ups. Manoj, student counsellor, says that it offers guidance on everything from certificate and diploma courses to under-graduate and post-graduate courses from over 200 colleges and universities across the globe: US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Italy; on the cards is a collaboration with New Zealand institutes. IDP Education Australia has branches in 25 countries. Most of their students know what they are looking for, says assistant manager Laurence, and in-house interviews are held through the year. The bi-annual Australian Interview Programme is one where students are invited to come and talk with representatives of Australian colleges. Keeping in mind that the college year begins either in January or July, the fairs are timed for either November or March at hotels like the Hilton or the Taj. Even though they do not have coaching classes they do have the facilities for conducting the IELTS for students.Southern Seas Education is registered under the Australian Representative India body. They have a pre-departure orientation programme where the students are prepared for their entry into a new country.

EDUWORLD: Eduworld, 3rd flr, Block 1, Stadium House, VN Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 20. #: 56334000 Web Address: www.myeduworld.com

IDP Education Australia, Express Building, 1st floor, Opp Churchgate Station, Mumbai 20. #: 22026505/09 Web Address: www.idp.com

Southern Seas Education, 6th floor, E Block, Dhaval Ganga Building, Opp Jogger’s Park, 1 Carter Road, Bandra (W). #: 26403362, 26551208. Website: www.southernseas.com

Canam Consultants, 101 Heritage Plaza, Teliguli Crossroad, Andheri (E), Mumbai 69. #: 26822079 26841356. Website: http://www.canamgroup.com/


In addition to coaching classes for entrance examinations EduWorld provides counselling to guide their students on related issues