Coronavirus
Outbreak in China & Outside China: Impacts on Foreign & Chinese
Students’ Mobility
Chinese Coronavirus hampers international
study across the world. For the educational purposes, thousands of
international students study and reside in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province
of China. Due to the lockdown and restrictions in Wuhan, students from these colleges
and universities face a shortage of foods and other important items necessary for
their daily life.
Chinese authorities advised all to stay
inside and avoid any contact with others to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Foreign students in the area are confined to student dormitories and trying to
escape the coronavirus-hit city. International students have shown concerns and panicked.
If this condition further deteriorates, the area will be a ghost town. Mohammad
Samiul Ahsan, vice president of the Wuhan University International Students'
Union is on-call nearly 24 hours a day and working to keep students and
officers informed and calm their fears by dispelling rumours. Samiul is an international student from Bangladesh.
However, overseas students have to be extra
careful as they may take the virus to their motherland. The USA and Japan started
evacuating their people and other developed nations are also preparing for
evacuations.
English proficiency exams (GRE, GMAT
Test, TOEFL and IELTS) have been postponed in China and it will delay Chinese
students’ studies abroad. Universities and colleges around the world are changing
plans for new and returning Chinese students. In some cases, Chinese students who
are already abroad have been recommended not to go home for holidays. Administrators
of different universities have started to cancel exchange programs, conferences
and sporting events in China. Moreover, some Chinese students from Wuhan are
now unable to get to school in New Zealand. This Coronavirus forces many educational
institutions to lower the enrollment of Chinese students. The virus changes the
whole education system globally.
The governments and concern authorities around
the globe should provide masks and other important items at a minimal price or
freely to the hospitals and educational institutes to prevent the virus epidemic
or eruption.
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