Date:09/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/09/stories/2008090950690200.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Singapore woos Kerala students

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: “Pursuing India’s young and the brightest,” the Singapore Education Fair in Kochi, organised on Monday by The Hindu Education Plus in association with IMTP Overseas Educational Consultants, saw a remarkable response.

Over 100 students, seeking information on various streams of study in Singapore, visited the fair in which seven reputed institutions, including the Republic Polytechnic and the Singapore Campus of the Australian James Cook University, participated.

Singapore is a destination that is growing in the minds of Indian students as a source of quality, affordable education, said Dhvani Anumolu, assistant manager, Singapore Education.

Singapore also enjoys a cultural and geographic proximity to India which the students enjoy, she said.

This is the first dedicated Singapore Education Fair in Kochi, said P. Gopinathan, director of IMTP Consultancy’s Kochi operations. Christina Chan, assistant director (international operations) at the Republic Polytechnic, said many of the Indian students at the polytechnic hailed from Kerala.

Permanent residence

This time, Singapore Education is also looking to Tamil Nadu. An education fair was held in Chennai in June and one in Coimbatore on Saturday.

Most students here have been looking to engineering, business management and design-oriented courses.

Students from Kerala have been impressive, said Ms. Chan. Those who completed three years of studies in Singapore would become eligible to apply for permanent residence in Singapore.