So you want to go abroad, eh? AMAR B SHRESTHA0 JUL 03 - What are your future plans?” Ask this question to youngsters in Kathmandu, and pat comes the answer, “I’ll be going abroad.” Dig deeper and you’ll find they already have a list of colleges tracked out. Invariably, the majority will be those in the United States. Well, it’s a pity, really. Most of them don’t know what they are getting into; a pit full of trouble, a quagmire of problems. While there may be some for whom money is not a problem, their parents having the big bucks needed to see them through four or five years of extreme expenses; for most others, it’s simply not worth it. Living expenses alone could well total close to a lakh a month, and even if there are all sorts of gambits of colleges to acquire students, such as scholarships, it’s advisable to read the fine print. First, students need to realise that nothing is free out there. You’ll probably have to shell out another lakh or so each month for fees, books, insurance and so forth. Does it make sense to spend so much money to get a degree that will use up all your parent’s hard earned money or probably even put them into debt? There are many youngsters (and parents, too) who are under the illusion that after the initial investment of a year’s expenses, students will be able to take care of the everyday expenditure themselves. A dangerous illusion, to say the least. For one thing, students cannot work legally; permission is needed, and even if that, they can work for limited hours only. For another, it’s a tough task having to work and study at the same time. Now, there’s one question that’s pretty much unanswered till now-how useful are the degrees you get abroad in Nepal’s context? One thing is for sure, it will take you a long, long time (if ever) to recover the expenses incurred in getting that degree. So, the query remains, does it make sense to go through all the hardship and uncertainty and the expenses you can ill afford? Nobody can say for sure, but there are perhaps quite a number who have returned without finishing their studies due to paucity of funds. And, there could perhaps be quite a number who have abandoned their studies and are living illegally, the conditions of their student visas having long been violated. Okay, a spirit of adventure and all that is fine, but not when you know that you’re going to land in a situation where you can neither swallow nor spit it out. It’s hard to abandon dreams and harder to sacrifice the investment already made. And, so, you keep on toiling, and toiling, and toiling. All those young exuberant years when you should be having fun, enjoying a great social life, and building long-term relationships. What a waste. Posted on: 2014-07-03 08:46
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:10:01 +0000
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