Immigration Minister Marc Miller recently announced a slew of new requirements for foreign students wanting to come study in Canada including proof of more accessible funds. The previous $10,000 proof of accessible funds has been raised to $20,635, with adjustments based on Statistics Canada’s living cost benchmark. This change aims to ensure students have adequate financial resources for their education and stay.

Apart from the intake curtailment announcement, Toronto Star recently reported that in the second half of 2023, nearly 40% of student visa applications from India were rejected, the highest refusal rate among all countries. The rejection reasons were categorised as ‘other’ or ‘unspecified’.

Amid uncertainties, if you need to look at countries beyond the US and the UK (considering the humungous tuition fees) that offer great courses that are also affordable, here is the list compiled by World’s Education Service.

5 countries that offer good courses at affordable fees:

Norway: The best thing about studying in Norway is that higher education is free in Norway (from both within and outside the EU) at public universities, except for a few specialized courses.

Apart from that, there is a high number of locals who are proficient in English and at all levels, students will find English-taught programs.

The only downside is that the cost of living is high in Norway, a student would need around ₹1.4 crore per year to stay there

Taiwan: Some of the best universities today are in Taiwan and high-quality courses are offered at great prices. For example, at National Taiwan University, the nation’s leading university, UG programmes for liberal arts start around ₹3 lakh.

Plus, more than 120 courses are taught in English at over 40 universities

Germany: Like Norway, tuition fees are not charged for undergraduate and PhD level programmes at all public universities, excluding those in Baden-Württemberg.

Master’s degree students who have not studied for their undergraduate degree in Germany are likely to pay around ₹19 lakh. But, you also apply for scholarships.

France: Tuition fees for both domestic and international students are around ₹20,000 per year for bachelor’s (licence) programs, ₹25,000 for most master’s programs and ₹40,000 for PhDs. Fees are considerably higher at highly selective institutes.

However, living costs are extremely high in some cities, especially Paris.

Mexico: Tuition fees vary, with private universities charging more, and average around ₹5 lakh for international undergraduate students in the capital, Mexico City, which was named one of the world’s top 100 cities for students.

Although the main language of instruction is Spanish, Mexican universities are offering more English-taught courses to attract international students.

Moreover, the living costs are reasonably low.

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Published: 16 Jan 2024, 03:39 PM IST