Democratising Study Abroad: Students, alumni of UK universities help SC, ST, women apply

NEW DELHI: Sayyed Manzer, from Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, had never dreamt of pursuing an MSc degree at the University of Oxford. He credits the “social capital” he gained at a prominent educational institution in India for his winning the Chevening scholarship that made it possible.

“Coming to Oxford University was never a part of the plan. I always believed that foreign universities are meant only for gold medalists, award recipients and extremely well-to-do people. Even to dream you need privileges I did not have,” he said.

Manzer earned a master’s degree in social work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai. “That’s where information came to me,” he said. “There are well-placed teachers and students who are applying and you get your hands on critical information. I came across very few from my community who are studying abroad.”

According to the British High Commission, 1.18 lakh Indian students were granted study visas till June in 2022, an 89% increase from the previous year. This was the highest number since 2005. However, not many from historically-disadvantaged communities make it.

Manzer, with others from marginalised and minority communities, studying in or graduated from UK universities are on a mission to “democratise access to education” through Project EduAccess. A non-profit, it is run by volunteers who are helping more students from disadvantaged sections access information and resources on studying abroad, especially in the UK.

When both domestic and international opportunities are shrinking, the initiative aims to prepare students to compete for international scholarships, grants, and fellowships and guide them through the application process. The initiative runs a mentorship programme especially for students who are Dalit, Adivasi, Indian Muslims, differently-abled, from northeastern states, women and from gender minorities, LGBTQIA+.

Formally launched this year, EduAccess has received over 700 mentee applications and more than 350 mentors from among those who have pursued, are currently pursuing or have received offers to pursue postgraduate degrees in UK institutions.

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‘Information asymmetry’

Students from these communities are usually so cut off from information that they do not even know of the options available.

Sameer Rashid Bhat, a doctoral student at Oxford University, started the initiative in 2021 to mentor Kashmiris applying for the Chevening Scholarship. It had 30 mentees and eight mentors.

Bhat intended to mitigate the “information asymmetry”, or unequal access to information, that plagues the Indian education system putting marginalised communities at further disadvantage.

“Most privileged students get support from alumni and/or have information on whom to reach out to. Marginalised community students rarely know where to browse and look for options. There are formal structures that are in favour of those who can pay for it – like consultancies – and the cycle of inequality and lack of representation continues. Through this initiative I want that asymmetry to disappear,” Bhat said.

Like Manzer at TISS, for Bhat, studying in Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) helped him apply for and win a Rhodes and Clarendon scholarship. “I went to a National Law University and I had resources yet I faced several challenges while applying and moving. It would have been so much easier if I could have had a mentor,” he said.

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While Gayathree Devi Kalliyat Thazhathuveetil, another founding member, had a comfortable start, she, too, recognised the inequality in access to higher education. “I’ve had access to the best schools, the best universities, the best career opportunities. I could dream big precisely because I had easy access to such opportunities – a privilege most students from marginalised communities lack. I am painfully aware of the difference that such access can make to one’s life, and therefore, working with Project EduAccess is my modest way of working towards ensuring that even students from marginalised communities have better access to quality education,” she said. Gayathree is also a doctoral candidate at Oxford and handles strategic expansion at Project EduAccess.

Study abroad mentorship programme

The project was formally launched for the 2022-23 academic session in May. There are 20 core members, balancing their volunteering with work and studies. The team was expanded to help more aspirants.

“Initially, we reached out to the student community here in the UK to know what they thought of the project. This year, we created a database of mentors and contacted them formally. As people showed interest, we asked them to sign up for the mentorship programme. The website also has a mentor application form which is open for anybody who would like to join. As of now, we have over 350 people, both from within our own circle and from other universities and countries,” explained Bhat.

Mentors are expected to dedicate at least three to four hours every month to the project. They must also undergo the prescribed in-house training and sensitisation before joining.

“There are two types of mentorships facilitated by the mentors – personal mentoring and technical mentoring. While applying for various courses, some universities look beyond just academic achievements. Some ask for life experiences, work experience, leadership skills etc. We take care of such things at the time of applying. For instance, a student applying for a course in public policy will be required to submit a statement of purpose or essays. We try to help candidates frame it. This includes reviewing essays, mock interviews etc,” explained Manzer.

EduAccess also offers master classes, workshops, public sessions and curated lists of resources for students who need not be part of the mentorship programme. The applications for mentorship programme 2022-23 were closed in August.

Competing for scholarships

Most students applying for education abroad cannot afford to pay for it themselves. Therefore, admission depends entirely on landing a good scholarship. The application process for UK scholarships begins in August-September and continues till January, and the students will be hand-held throughout the process.

“We help students with internal university scholarships as well as external scholarships. We prepare for the scholarships like Chevening, Rhodes, Commonwealth etc., so that they are able to compete for them,” said Bhat.

Mentors will also help students choose subjects and improve English language skills. “There are so many who are unaware of the choices they have in terms of courses. This requires mentorship too. Some courses are more competitive than others. Another challenge is that many students have weak English language skills. Some scholarship bodies also look at leadership skills and other soft talents,” Manzer explained further.

While students are guided this closely only through the application process, Bhat plans to expand the initiative’s scope. “We aim to provide support to students during and after the application process. Once they come to the university, we hope to provide a sense of community, introduce them to opportunities available in the UK,” he said. Support for visa applications as well as preparing students for the move with information on clothing, culture and local activities are also part of the plan.

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Most of the mentee applicants are aiming for postgraduate or research programmes. The initiative does not yet support undergraduates.

Focus on tier-2, tier-3

The volunteers realised they needed to reach students outside India’s top colleges and universities. As a result, EduAccess’s outreach team focused mostly on students from relatively less-known institutions in tier-two and three towns or even rural India.

“Our strategy was to send out information so that potential applicants could look at what it meant to apply for a foreign university. We had immense success finding students from marginalised communities. We also reached out to organisations working with these communities and disseminated information through them,” said Bhat.

Finally, the students were selected on the basis of their academic and economic background as well as the city to which they belong. Most of the candidates selected are women and there are members from the LGBTQIA+ community as well.

Women studying abroad

A “conscious effort” was made to support women applicants and those form gender minorities. The higher education sector “fails to offer an inclusive space to women and gender minorities”, said Gayathree.

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“This not only impacts how they view the education industry, but also creates dispositional barriers. Even the most hard-working, talented and qualified women from marginalised communities self-select themselves out of opportunities to study abroad, fearing that they may not make the cut. Many of them feel under confident, perhaps because they have not seen a lot of women from their own backgrounds in higher education spaces abroad. Building their confidence and motivating them to give themselves a chance has, therefore, been an important issue for us,” she explained further.

This is in line with the UK government’s scholarship policy to encourage gender diversity on campuses. “We have set up a key initiative that caters specifically to the needs of women and gender minorities and made it clear through our outreach activities that we’re keen on supporting women and gender minorities across all marginalised communities. Secondly, the UK government and the British Council are also pushing for gender equality in higher education through various schemes. For example, the British Council recently announced several scholarships for Indian women in STEM to study in the UK. Since funding is always a major barrier for Indian women to study abroad, the fact that there are institutional improvements on this front may have motivated more women to give this a shot,” she said.