The slide of rupee against all the major currencies of the world has worried students pursuing courses in the UK, US, Australia and several European nations. Students will have to pay more for their education and also for other basic expenditure required to live in these countries. Students with existing loans are now reassessing their loan requirements.
Sahil Chopra, who has applied in one of the UK’s universities, says there has been a difference of Rs 10 per pound since I applied for admission. “When I applied to the university, 1 pound was equal to Rs 90 and now it has gone up to Rs 100. As I have to make my full payment in September, I hope rupee will recover by that time, otherwise it will put additional burden on my family. They will also have to spend more on daily expenses,” adds Sahil.
Another student Chahat Sudera, who has also applied for a graduation course in the UK, said, “Economy is in a mess and it’s a crisis time for students who wish to go abroad to pursue higher education. Besides staying cost, college fee and accommodation will become very costly and the difference would be in lakhs.”
Students who are already pursuing their studies are in a dilemma.
Naveen, who is currently pursuing his MBA in the UK, says, “Alongside my studies, I have started working to balance my expenses. But students who are still doing their under graduation and are not earning, their expenses has gone up by 30 pc. In 2010, one pound meant Rs 67 and now it’s Rs 100.”
Meanwhile, students who are in the process of repaying their loan are not grudging about the rupee fall as they are earning in foreign currencies and it’s easier for them to repay the loan.
Shivam Bhalla, who is now working in Australia, says, “It is a bad news for Indian economy. But I am not affected because when I applied for a loan three years back, one Australian dollar was equal to Rs 35 and now it has touched a mark of Rs 60. So it is easy to repay the loan to Indian banks because my earnings are in dollars. But it is certainly a tough period for those who are about to apply for loans now.”
Sumit Vasan, working in Edinburg, says, “You can stay unaffected only if you are in a business or higher management level jobs. I have been here for past eight years now, but I have never seen any other currency fluctuating so frequently like Indian rupee. RBI needs to ponder over its policies.” Kanwar Sethi, director of coaching centre said, “Students of Punjab will go abroad even if the dollar further goes up against the rupee. Scholarship is one option for students who are targeting foreign universities but for that eligibility requires class distinction.”
