Study Abroad News & Alerts

The New Education Policy is looking forward to totally revamp the education system in India. This has been a much-needed change as the Indian curriculum has been pretty much the same ever since independence. Now, to comply with the global standards of education, the government of India has come up with this education policy that will change the landscape of Indian education. One of the key aspects of NEP is to focus on multilingualism in India and promote languages like Sanskrit.

The government wants to integrate old languages with the current curriculum and teach these important subjects in school. Now students in India will have the option to study many languages while in school. The government will soon design books and appropriate dictionaries to help teachers teach accurately in schools and to promote better understanding for students as well.

The answer key for CAT, 2023 has been finally released for aspirants. After much await, students can now download the answer key from the official website of CAT. This year the CAT exam was conducted by IIM Lucknow and the answer key has been released by the same institute only. Candidates can raise objections in the answer key by paying Rs.1500 for each question. The objection key window will be open till 8th December, 2023 after which students will no longer be able to submit their objections. 

More than 2.88,00,00 students participated in the CAT exam in 2023. This year students found that the level of the examination was a lot tougher than previous years. Students will need their CAT registered login ID along with password to download the answer key.

The number of medical colleges in India have risen by 82% since 2014. MBBS seats on the other hand have increased by 112% since 2014. The number of medical seats for postgraduate courses in India have increased by 127% since 2014. Additionally, the construction of 157 medical colleges have also been approved by the centre out of which 108 are already functional. All of these medical colleges have been fully sponsored by the Centre. The Centre is looking forward to increasing  the number of seats in the government medical colleges for students in the coming years.

The tuition fees in private medical colleges have become extremely high and it is not at all affordable for students. The construction of more government medical colleges have been approved by both the Centre and state governments of various states. For  states the funding is shared between states in 90:10 and for northeastern states it's in the ratio 60:40.

BVR Subhramanyam, the CEO of Niti Ayog has recently said that India is making strategies to become a global education hub by 2047 and attract at least five lakh international students every year. According to him, technology will be the boosting factor in popularising the Indian education system around the world. He also said that there is a greater need to assert elementary and higher education at the ground level in India to make the youth more skilled and educated.

Indian universities will have to adopt smart AI tools to keep up with the pace of international education. Both private and government universities will play an important part in revolutionising the Indian education system and attracting more international students.

University of Sheffield is offering scholarships to the students of Delhi Public school under its undergraduate merit scholarship program 2024. The scholarship is worth £10,000 and will be given to the students selected under the scholarship program. To be eligible to apply for the scholarship. It is necessary to have a letter of acceptance from the University of Sheffield in an undergraduate programme. The last date to apply for the scholarship is 24th April, 2024. It is important to note that only the students of Delhi Public school are eligible for the scholarship and it is necessary to have received a letter of acceptance in an undergraduate or foundation program from the university to be eligible. The student should not have received any scholarship from another funding institution.

In 2023, Spain received over 90,000 visa applications from Indian immigrants. Considering this number, the country is expecting a 10% rise in the number of visa applications from Indians in 2024. Even though Indian students have been interested in studying in Spain, the long waiting period is what is keeping them away from applying for the study visa and deciding to study in Spain. Spain has a number of public and private universities that are extremely affordable for international students. Also interesting scholarships are another reason why Spanish universities are so popular among international students. The ambassador of Spain in India has recently said that to tackle the long waiting time, Spain is looking forward to opening a new consulate in Bangalore and some other cities in India as well.

The US government is all set to introduce its pilot H1B visa programme that will allow nearly 20,000 skilled workers from across the country to come to the US and pursue their profession. Organisations in the US or forcing the government to include the dependents of the principal applicants in the visa programme as well. The government has denied the inclusion of dependents of the principal applicants to get the benefits of the H1B visa programme. The program is yet in its pilot stage and the government doesn't want to take any risks. 

This may negatively affect the plans of people who were considering migrating to the US under this programme. Many skilled workers have families that they can't leave behind which is why getting a dependent visa is necessary for them. Business organisations are trying to persuade the state department to allow at least spouses and children to come with the principal applicant

The JEE Mains session one correction window will begin from 6 December, 2024. Candidates who have filled the form for the session 1 of the JEE mains exam will be allowed to edit the forms till 8 December 2024. This is the last opportunity for students to correct any personal information that they have filled incorrectly. Following the end of the correction window period, students will not be able to connect anything in their application form and the same incorrect information will be carried forward.

JEE has released all the necessary information related to the correction of application form. It is necessary to upload the latest photograph and signature of the candidate and all the other scanned documents correctly.

The state government of Odisha has decided to provide free of cost coaching to students for JEE and NEET. The government will be selecting an expert faculty group of 6 to 7 teachers who will design the curriculum for the program. The syllabus for these competitive exams will be divided equally among difficulty as per their calibre and deliberation ability.

The state has strictly advised to make the curriculum interactive and classes interesting for students to enhance participation. These classes will be directly broadcasted in the school. Classrooms and special periods will be allotted to students to prepare for these exams. Schools that have smart facilities will begin with the criteria very soon and all those schools that do not have smart screens as of yet will be provided with the needed facilities.

NEET has recently released the guidelines regarding the updated syllabus for the exam. Many topics in the updated biology syllabus are not from the NCERT book. Students have been very confused about the sleepers and the sources for accurate preparation. To solve this problem, NEET has now released in-depth FAQs regarding the preparation criteria. NEET has clarified that the latest update has been made keeping in mind the relevant topics. Many government schools around the country deleted a lot of topics during the pandemic. 

These topics were not being taught anywhere around the country which is why NEET thought it was now the time to make a change in the current syllabus. Regarding the addition of several topics, NEET has clarified that these are the relevant topics that have been taken from various state boards and books of particular schools. Students can refer to the mentioned sources for their preparation.

The University of Queensland is offering a High Achievers Scholarship to Indian students that will offer a 20% tuition fee waiver. The students will have to pay only the rest of the tuition fee. Students will not have to separately apply for this scholarship as will applying for a course at the university their eligibility for the scholarship will be checked automatically. If the student fulfills the eligibility criteria then they will be awarded the scholarship along with the acceptance letter.

It is compulsory to enroll in a full-time program. Any student who doesn't enrol in a full-time program will not be eligible for the scholarship. It is also compulsory for students to not have received a full scholarship from any other other institution or private source to be eligible for this scholarship.

The University of Bath is inviting students for its MSc in Applied Psychology & Economic Behaviour course for the session 2024-2025. Psychology is a key discipline on identifying various human behavioural patterns across different areas. The course focuses on understanding the cognitive behaviour of people in different situations and how unwanted outcomes can be tackled by the simple understanding of the human mind and psyche.

The fees of the course is £28,000 out of which £1000 have to be deposited initially. The amount will be deducted from the overall tuition fees later on. The application deadline is June 30 and the classes for the programme will begin in September 2024. It is compulsory for students to have a bachelor's degree in psychology or any other related discipline in social sciences to be eligible for the program.

Tamil Nadu has officially started the application process for its State scholarship for meritorious students. The registration has begun from 4 December 2023 and the last date to register for the scholarship is 19 December 2023. students can go on the official website of Tamil Nadu government to check the curriculum for the scholarship and the process of application. To submit the applications students will have to pay a registration fee of Rs.50. Students studying in government approved institutions are eligible for the scholarship and will have to take the merit test on the 3rd February. The test will consist of two portions. 

First is the scholastic ability test and the second is the mental ability test. The syllabus for the test has already been stated by the state government. Students can prepare for the exam by looking at the syllabus. The scholarship amount varies from class to class. Class 10th and class 12 students will get an annual stipend of Rs.12,000 if  they qualify for the scholarship.

The Rishi Sunak government is planning to put a restriction on the number of people coming to the UK. Recently, there has been a massive surge in the number of immigrants who came to the UK in 2023. Most of these people were students, skilled workers and dependents. Now the government is trying to make sure that all the people who are migrating to the UK are quality individuals who can contribute to the economy of the country for the better. Now the minimum salary requirement to get a work visa in the UK has been updated to £38,700 per annum. Anyone getting a salary below this number will not be given a work visa by the UK. The government of the UK has already released guidelines related to dependent visas already. The government is looking to lower the immigration number by three lakhs in the coming year and focus more on quality immigrants.

The Central board of secondary education recently announced that class 10th and 12th students will not be given any division of distinction during the announcement of board results. CBSE has also stated that if a student has chosen more than five subjects then the decision to determine the percentage totally lies with the institution from which the candidate has passed. The institution can choose any five subjects out of all the subjects that a candidate has chosen to determine their respective percentage.

This is also one of the primary reasons why the board doesn't calculate the percentage itself and just gives the mark sheet to the students. The decision to not award any distinction of division to class 10th and 12th students is the real essence of NEP. it will help in releasing the academic pressure on students and the fear of results and the decision that it creates.

NTA has extended the registration window for JEE Mains 2024 session 1 till 4th December, 2023. candidates can register on the official website of JEE. The correction window for the same will be open from 6th December to 12th December. The first session of the JEE exam will begin on 24th January, and conclude by 1st February, 2024. Students will be allotted their admit cards three days before the official date of their exam.

To register themselves for the session 1 exam, candidates simply have to visit the official website of JEE and follow the necessary steps. It is important to make sure that all the details filled are right. Make sure that you pay the application fee to complete the registration process successfully.

In November, 2022, the government of Canada decided to introduce a pilot project under which students were allowed to work unlimited hours as part time workers. This plan was only eligible till 31st December, 2023. The strategy was introduced by the government of Canada primarily because of the labour shortage in the country. Now as we approach 31st December, 2023, Canada is ready to put a restriction on the number of hours. A student can work part time in Canada.

The rents and the cost of living in Canada has already increased a lot. In such a scenario, many students are worried about the ability to manage their expenses as they will only be allowed to work for some limited number of hours. Students worry about having to cut some important expenses or even taking support from their family members as the rents  are extremely expensive in Canada right now.

Pursuing your doctorate or research degree from a foreign university can be very beneficial for your career. As an international student doing it from a top global university can do wonders. Let's have a look at the top scholarships from different countries around the world for PhD students.

1. AAUW International Women's Fellowship 

This scholarship is especially for women who want to pursue their doctorate from a university in the US. It is meant to empower women and promote their academic pursuits. Selected students are awarded $50,000 per year.

2. Friedrich Naumann Foundation For International Students 

This is specifically for students who want to pursue their doctorate from German universities. Every year almost 150 students are selected from different countries around the world and get to study in German universities.

3. Commonwealth Scholarship

Commonwealth scholarship is given to international students from different countries who want to study in the top universities of the UK. Under the scholarship, the tuition fee for the first three years of their degree is totally free.

4. Destination Australian Program

This scholarship is for students who want to pursue their PhD from an Australian university. Selected students get a stipend of AU$15,000 annually.

In 2023, the US has issued more than 10.5 million visas so far. This is 2 million more than the number of visas issued in 2022. The US is very near achieving its targeted number of the overall number of  visas issued to immigrants. more than 1,40,000 student visas have been offered to Indian students so far in 2023. This is an all-time high number and the US has also made significant changes in its visa application process to reduce waiting time for Indian students. The number of Indian people getting a visa in different categories like skill based visas, work visa, tourist visa, student visa, and other categories has increased massively. India has now officially surpassed China and become the largest source of international students for the US. To support Indian students in the US, the government of the US is doing everything in their capability to make the immigration process easy for Indian students.

Over 25.5 lakhs students have registered for the minority scholarship that has been introduced by the government. The government has recently scrutinised all the applications and it was found out that more than 26.5% of the total applications were bogus. The government conducts a proper Aadhaar card biometric verification and other in detail verification of documents. 18.8 lakhs students have registered for the scholarship for the first time whereas 6.2 lakhs students have registered for the scholarship renewal.

Under the renewal category, 30% of the scholarships have been found to be fake. The overall number of fake applications stands at 26.5%. Students who are able to pass the whole verification process, laid down by nodal officers, will be the only ones eligible for the scholarship.