Our son is pursuing his MBBS in China (Year 2). Due to drastic travel curbs since the last two years, he has not been able to go back to the classroom. While he pores over his notes and watches some videos etc, he is terribly disturbed. Our younger daughter who gave her NEET this year, was also looking for ward to join him there. But we are now very confused about the way forward.
MN Sambyal, Coimbatore
A large number of international students, including those like your son from India (23,000+) have not been able to return to China to continue their medical studies due to the strict travel curbs and suspension of visas.
This, in turn, may lead to education be ing delivered in online mode only. Howev er, as per the existing norms, the NMC does not recognise or approve medical courses completed via online mode.
Since China has closed its borders and restricted student travel, those enrolled in medical colleges across China have re quested the Indian government to grant them migration facility so they can move to colleges in other countries where the course is recognised by the NMC.
They cite similar relaxation for Indian medical students in Ukraine earlier dur ing a previous war-like situation between Ukraine and Russia in 2014. Covid has created a war like situation of much bigger scale and request the govern ment to consider this relaxation in the interests of thousands of Indian students pursuing medical courses in China.
Hopefully, if all goes well, the situation may normalise by Sep tember/October when China will open its doors to foreign students. While this could have happened earlier, the government seems to be ex tra-cautious due to the Winter Olympics. Once that is over, the visa renewal pro cess would resume and the backlog of lakhs of foreign students including Indi ans, may be completed by October when the new semester begins.
Chinese universities may extend the AY (assessment year) by at least six months to plug the gap between teach ing and clinical exposure for the current students who are enrolled there.
As for prospective students looking at pursuing medical education abroad in cluding in China, they are advised to study the FMGE Regulations carefully before applying.
The Ministry of External Affairs, Gol, is aware that some universities in the Peo ple's Republic of China have started issu ing notices for admission to MBBS pro grammes for the current and upcoming academic years.
New nomenclature
Our daughter who will be giving her class XII boards this year is very creative and says she is keen to go for a course in Visual Communication. Is this some new thing in design? In our times we had courses in Graphic Design. What is the scope?
Rita Saxena, Lucknow
Many of the earlier BFA courses in Com mercial Art/ Graphic Design now have a new nomenclature: Visual Communica tion as also Communication Design. You can call it a case of 'old wine in a new bottle' if you wish. With some significant add-ons, namely, digital, animation, pho tography etc.
Visual Communication design is con cerned with presenting information, whether printed on paper, presented on a screen or displayed outdoors or at an exhibition.
Graduates in Visual Communication are employed by design studios and con sultants, advertising agencies, social me dia and digital marketing companies, book and magazine publishers, printers, and as in-house designers for large corpo rations, online marketing platforms. Op portunities for visual communicators also exist in the fields of fashion, television and film industry, multimedia and web design firms, exhibition designers, pack aging, stationery and visual merchandis ing companies. Do not let the name of the degree: BDes or BSc Visual Communica tion confuse you. They are one 'n the same thing. Although the former is more prevalent. Just make sure she has her portfolio in place and prepares for the en trance test which is the basis on which students are selected to these courses. Goes without saying that more than the nomenclature of the course, the repu tation and track-record of the Design school is what matters.
Online coaching options
We live in a small town in Himachal Pradesh. Our daughter who will be shortly moving to class XI in a local school here, is extremely bright and keen to make a career in Science. How ever, she is a very shy and protected girl (only child) so sending her out to anoth er city for coaching for Engineering en trances (and enrolling in a big city school) does not seem like a feasible option. Should she drop a year after class XII? We are very confused because we want the best for her.
Biren Mahajan, Kasol,
Himachal Pradesh
Do not worry, thanks to the internet and great leaps in EdTech, there are excellent online as well as blended learning options available for students like your daughter who cannot or does not wish to attend physical coaching for entrance exams or even for school Boards. From tried and test ed platforms like Khan Academy, Unacade my, Byju's etc we now have legacy players like FITJEE and even reputed residential centres in Kota who have moved their offer ings online in the past couple of years ac celerated by the Covid lockdown. They have stepped up to offer live online classes in the e-school format. Apart from being more interactive and engaging, they give students the flexibility of viewing (and re-viewing) the videos again at their con venience to reinforce learning and clarify the concepts. Regular mock tests in a 'sim ulated' classroom setting help the student get a feel of the real exam-hall setting while benchmarking their performance against thousands (even lakhs) of students across the country so they know exactly where they stand and work on their weak spots.
They also assign online mentors who are available online throughout the day to assist with any difficulties the student may face.
Apart from the sheer convenience of studying in the comfort of your home, it saves you a whole lot of time and energy wasted on commuting to and from physi cal coaching centres at the other end of town. Not to mention saving on money spent on hostel/PG, lodging and boarding in some other city, feeling homesick away from your family.
However, take your time. Check re views and ratings, speak to friends whose children may have availed of good online coaching and weigh their feedback before signing up.
Published on :- Times of India
Date :- 21 02 2022
