Sliding rupee hikes foreign education costs

By Ruchi Shrimali

 

 

As Indian rupee slid down to a record low of 55.05 against American dollar on Monday, students abroad are worried about the consequent rise in their education and living costs. According to financial experts, uncertainties in global economy and inability of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reverse the trend is further adding to the rupee woes.

 

In an effort to rope in the value of the currency, the RBI has asked banks in India to sell half of the foreign currencies in their accounts. It is also trying to attract overseas money by raising the interest ceiling offered by local banks to overseas Indians in forex accounts. Know more

 

As we had mentioned earlier, a dip in the rupee means increase in the cost of foreign education. Last year, the rupee depreciated by more than 18 per cent resulting in direct increase of 18% course fee for a study abroad aspirant. Rising cost of foreign education is not an ordinary matter for those from humble financial backgrounds. A course that would have cost a study abroad aspirant Rs 30 lakhs, including the tuition fee and living expenses, in 2011 would now cost him or her about 5.4 lakh rupees more! Read more

 

The stay and living expenses have shot up too. Students are taking up part-time jobs and internships to meet at least a part of their living and food expenses. They are also trying to cut down on their expenses by borrowing books and downloading study material from the Internet, instead of buying new books. Aspirants are also looking towards alternative education destinations that are cheaper, such as Germany or the UK, instead of more expensive ones like the UK to keep their study expenses in check. See details

 

Other interesting reads:

- Education in Germany is much cheaper than other European countries

- Singapore study is light on pocket