Over 3,600 foreign nationals apply for admission at Panjab University

Akashdeep Virk

Chandigarh, July 19

From just two admissions last year, more than 3,600 foreign nationals have submitted applications to pursue education at Panjab University. Most of the students seeking admission are from Nepal, Bangladesh and African countries.

The office of the Dean, International Students, has received 3,603 applications for the next academic session so far. The university has revised the quota for foreign nationals this year. According to the university authorities, 25% over and above the sanctioned intake has been reserved for foreign nationals for the upcoming session. It was 5% last year.

According to Prof Kewal Krishan, Dean, International Students, apart from the return of normalcy post-Covid, there were various reasons for the increase in applications this year.

The university has reduced the annual fees for foreign national students. For general MA courses, the fees has been reduced to $700. Similarly, the fees has been slashed to $800 for BTech, $800 for BSc (Honours), $1,200 for MSc and hotel management courses, and $2,300 for MPharma. “Considering the global reputation of the PU, the revised fees are very reasonable and students are willing to pay the amount to receive quality education here,” said Prof Krishan.

Moreover, the guidelines for prospective foreign national students have been streamlined by the university authorities. “Earlier, there used to be an entrance test for some courses, which we have done away with this time,” the Dean added.

The most sought-after courses by foreign nationals in the PU are MBA (54 applications received this year), engineering, BPharma, MPharma, BSc and MSc in physics and chemistry, and PhD courses.

Apart from direct applications, the university receives applications from foreign nationals via the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Study in India portal, a government initiative facilitating foreign nationals to directly apply to top-tier institutions in India.

The council regulates a number of scholarship schemes for foreign students on an annual basis. There are over 3,000 scholarships offered through 21 schemes under the ICCR to students from over 180 countries. While six of these schemes are funded by the council, the remaining are financially supported by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of AYUSH. The scholarships are offered across most of the streams, including dance, music, yoga and ayurveda, except for medicine, and at all three levels (undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD).

“We make it sure that every query of a foreign national regarding the admission is answered and he/she receives help in every possible way. Admission of foreign nationals plays an important role in cultural relations of our institution and the nation as well,” said Prof Krishan.

PG courses: Submit forms till July 24

Chandigarh: The last date for applying online for admission to postgraduate courses at Panjab University has been extended to July 24. In a notice, the authorities stated that it was done to facilitate candidates whose entrance test results were declared on July 16. TNS