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By Steve Umidha
Pent up demand to travel for studies and existence of vaccine is giving business owners hope – following the collapse of business as a result of the global health pandemic. But some warn that recovery will be gradual and the market will not return to its usual vitality until after 2024.
Prior to the pandemic, the number of outbound higher education students from the US, Asia and Europe had been gradually heading in one direction. Upwards. Not anymore.
As the vaccine rolls out globally, several providers have told Financial Fortune Media they expect recovery to be gradual and students will look for programs which can guarantee health and safety concerns. For many, 2021 will see small numbers of Kenyan students heading overseas.
As a result, a good number of Kenyan students are expected to flock to the United States (US), Europe and Asian countries like China and Malaysia due to the expected drop in affordable tuition, generous scholarships by such overseas universities who will be keen to admit new students.
Omar Mohamed, a director at EduCare International –an education consultancy firm in Kenya says that the number of Kenyan learners moving abroad to pursue higher education had grown tremendously over the last decade prior to the ongoing global pandemic.
EduCare international works closely with over 350 international universities and acts as a link between these universities in the facilitation and transition process of students through passport and visas application.
EduCare international further works closely with students and parents in course selecting process on marketable careers in overseas universities. This way students save time and money on application processes – with such associated costs taken up by universities enrolling them.
“Even at this point we are getting a lot of inquiries. We have over 4,000 top universities across the globe and over time we have seen a growing number of Kenyans making inquiries to pursue medicine, law, business-related courses, film and engineering which come with added advantages like taking up well-paying part time jobs,” says Mr. Mohamed, in an interview.
While some education abroad providers have “eked out” tiny revenue from virtual internship programs or small numbers of students who’ve ventured abroad, many “have faced an entire year without any revenue at all”.
Majority of Kenyan parents prefer foreign universities over local ones due to a perception of high quality standards, prestige, and exposure to life overseas.
Parents spend up to Sh4million per year per student or more to send their children abroad most of who end up getting permanent residents (PR) documents and citizenships over time.
“This is due to the fact that foreign universities are generally better equipped with facilities and the appeal of working opportunities after school which also makes them more attractive to Kenyan students,” says Omar, whose company acts as an enabler for seamless transition of such students in visa application, course guidance in partnership with international universities.
Application procedure has been cited as one of the most tedious process for many students. A Kenyan student will need the F-1 Student Visa to study in United States, with application made atleast 3 months before your university degree programme starts. You can expect to wait about 9 days for the decision.
It would cost you about 37,926 EUR yearly to pursue a-four year course in Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications program at Pace University in the US.
It will cost you an estimated RM68, 000 per course for a duration of 3 years for Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Malaysia, exclusive of US$35,000 for tuition fees and living expenses for that period.
You will need between C$20,000 and C$30,000 annually to cover tuition to study in Canada and this varies depending with the institution and program in which you are enrolled.