5 ASPECTS TO NEVER IGNORE: PARENTS GUIDE WHILE ‘STUDYING IN INDIA’

5 ASPECTS TO NEVER IGNORE: PARENTS GUIDE WHILE ‘STUDYING IN INDIA’ India is known for its divergent diversity; cultural perplexity and above all its exceeding warm acceptability. But as parents it can be a really daunting task to prepare yourself and your child to enter this new world, without you being there to guide and support. Especially if it means being away for long term courses!

Worry not! It’s a common concern area and a few wise choices should significantly ease your stress. Studying in India for foreign students has never been this easy.

For countries situated in the Indian sub-continent (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, etc), the cultural complexities are sublime and submerging as differentiating factors are not very strong; and adjusting for students is much easier as the student visa for India is not difficult to attain either. For students coming in from the African subcontinent, Eastern parts of Asia, South America and European sub-continent; India stands a world apart. However, despite the differences, India is a land of huge diversity and it is this diversity that enables students from across the globe to fit in and feel at ease. This diversity is also often the best first step of your beloved child into the world on his or her own and the ability to build global competencies is the main teacher to prepare your child for the world. #1 Cultural Complexity: India is a land of over 2200 languages and over 15000 dialects. Beyond its physical diversity it is known for its cultural potpourri. People of strong religious opinions are as tolerated atheists. All major religions in the world are practiced and preached in India – Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Buddhism form the main sects that are followed.

Being in India, is the best opportunity you can give your child to learn and know more about these religious believes without diluting your own religious beliefs. #2 Travelling Easy: India is a well networked and connected nation. Travelling across, states and cities is convenient with its highly extensive rail and road network. Also, majority of the cities are also connected well via airways. Locally, most of the Metro cities have an extensive network of public transport comprising of Metro system, local trains, buses and private mode of transport like taxis and rickshaw are also available at affordable rate. It is best advisable to avoid the rush during holiday seasons, booking train and flight tickets in advance if it’s a planned travel, and most importantly travelling light and not carrying too much of cash or valuables with yourself. Go easy, try new options, but avoid road side stalls and vendors till your body acclimatizes.

#3 Food Fusion: The Indian cooking style and ingredients used are significantly different from the food habits in the west. The food is better aligned with the weather conditions here and is most often cooked with home grown spices. The flavours and menu are different for each region within India and may vary from sweet to sour to highly spicy. However, the advantage is that food of a wide variety of origins is available here. Special food and continental preferences are also accepted and made on special request. Cost of food or its ingredients is significantly lesser in India compared to other parts of the world. Most students prefer college canteens and messes for their daily food requirements as they are highly subsidized in rates. Homecooked meals popularly called Tiffin services available for students across the country and are also a very popular choice. Moreover, most of the cities have access to global/international grocery brands and ingredients and students can make their own food as well. #4 Staying connected: Emails, and video calls may seem like the best mode of free communication, but it is always advisable to purchase a local India sim-card to stay in constant touch with friends and family back home. To communicate effectively with acquaintances’ and friends your child will make in India, it will be much easier to have their own local number. It is the best mode of communication for the institute to get in touch. Further, it is also important to share your local number with concerned institute and authority for safe keeping. #5 Medical Facilities: Almost all colleges across the country have access to hospitals, emergency care and the like for their students. As a parent, please ensure that you share a detailed history with the college to equip them to handle any emergencies including allergies.

Retaining the emergency hospital care contact number, that of the college point of contact and those of the roommates will always ensure that you are never out of touch in any situation!

It is these multicultural aspects and diversity that lead to forming of adjustments, new beginnings, broadened acceptability, empowered communication and cultural tolerance that mark the development of global competence in a student. All this is deemed highly necessary for all students in the 21st century specially those hailing from the developing parts of the world. And it is this factor that has marked India’s prospects (read Indian students) on the global educational space and resonates into strong employability skills that are acceptable globally.

The best thing that can happen to you as a parent or student is to be able to connect with various education consultants in India like Admissiondesk.org. Admissiondesk.org partners with you at every step; we work to help the international students connect with Indian agencies and institute that aid in accommodation, travel facilitation, student visa for India processing and

more. It is a dual portal that helps connect students applying to Indian institutes directly with the institutes. Application forms can be filled in and submitted online, where the institutes can view, and offer admission based on its pre-decided criteria.