Aurangabad, Dec 7:
Novel coronavirus has affected all fields, including higher education across the world. Many international students take admission in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (Bamu) every year.
However, when the spread of COVID began, it was thought that new foreign students may not take admissions in the city considering COVID situation for the academic year 2020-21 and university and colleges lose their revenue which is in crores.
This prediction proved wrong as 110 students different countries including Yemen, Somalia and Sudan applied for admissions in BAMU university for the new academic year. This time around, the administration launched a one-window system and online admission process, which is saving time and money of students.
Earlier, students used to visit the university and obtain eligibility for any course. Many a time, if any student is not found eligible for the course, he would not get eligibility and will have to return his home country without admissions. This would result in their loss of time and money. Now, they need not come to the university and can apply from their country. After the online registration, the university will issue the eligibility certificate. On getting the certificate, the student can pay the fee online and confirm admission in the department or college. Currently, 400 students of various countries are pursuing courses in Bamu and affiliated colleges.
A total of 110 students applied online and obtained provisional admissions for undergraduate, postgraduate courses and Ph D admissions. The university earned a revenue of Rs 8 lakh from just registration. Each international student pays three to five times the tuition fee for any course compared to local students. This means institutes and Bamu will get revenue in several crores.
Talking to this newspaper, vice-chancellor Dr Pramod Yeole said when the COVID spread stared, it was felt that international students would not take admissions in the institutes of out of their country.
“However, considering trends in education, it appears that international students craze for education in our country has not affected. Since the city affordable to them, 110 students from Yemen, Sudan, Congo, Jordan, Palestine, Somalia, Syria and Thailand applied online for the admissions this year. This is a positive development for the university in the post-COVID situation,” he said.
VC Dr Yeole said that a meeting of students was held to know their problems. “After their suggestions, the one-window system was launched so that they need not move from one department to another for admissions. The new system has reduced their problems in the admission process. We ready to accept their suggestion if any, for further improvement in the admission process,” he asserted.