SHALINI SAKSENA speaks with SUKHJIT SINGH ANAND about why students should opt for studying in Germany
From working in an automobile industry to an education consultant. How did that happen?
The Calculus was established in 1985 as a first retail outlet for personal computers in Regal Building, New Delhi. From there, I went on to be a part of several other businesses. In 2006, my son was looking for options to do his MBA from an international university. Like any other parent, I too looked at countries like the US and the UK. That is when I decided to become a consultant for the US, the UK and Germany. After working in this sector for sometime, I finally decided to just concentrate on promoting Germany as nobody was promoting this country. I like to diversify in an area where no one is working. There are 400 State-funded colleges. They offer 15,000 courses, out of these 1,000 are in English. Their colleges/universities are 100 to 2,000 years old.
How are you different from other consultants?
We are the largest German education consultants of India. The others are consultants who promote the US, the UK and Australia where education is commercial. The consultant firms in India work on a commission basis. They try and push the students to opt for colleges/universities and countries from where they get maximum benefit. In Germany, education is free, they offer no commission. Therefore, we charge a fee from the student.
What is your fee? What does it include?
We charge Rs 60,000. This fee is entirely refundable if the student fails to secure a place in a college. We guide the student through the entire process like how to secure a bank loan; then the visa process. We guide him through the health insurance since Indian health insurance will not work. We also arrange for his accommodation. Once he comes to us, he doesn’t have to go anywhere. No other consultant offers this kind of service.
Why do the students need a loan if education is free?
Bank loan is for the first year German language and their stay for that year. The course can begin only after they student has learnt the language. This costs Rs 6-7 lakh. The language institute arranges for college admission so the student is carefree. The student needs to open an account in the country with €10,000 (Rs 8 lakh approximately) to study in the country. Then there is visa. The ticket cost is Rs 30,000. Our fee is Rs 60,000 plus 18 per cent GST.
Germany has 13 years of schooling as opposed to 12 in India. The student has to do a Foundation year which is free. But this course is taught in another college from where he will do his bachelors. This is basically similar to what the student has done in Class XII. The student has to make arrangement for stay (Rs 6 lakh for a year) since he can’t work while doing his Foundation course.
In Rs 25 lakh he can do his bachelors and masters. There is a provision for the student to work part-time and earn €15 per hour up to 20 hours a week when he is in the college. In a month, he can earn up to €1,400 that can go towards his stay and other expenses.
What is the procedure?
Before a student can actually start his course, he has to first learn German for one year. Learning the language is not tough for Indian students as it is somewhat similar to English. After that, they can pursue their graduation and or PG in German language. Also, 90 per cent students go to Germany for engineering which is for three years. Around 80 per cent of the course is practical, only 20 per cent is theoretical. It is not very difficult for our students to follow these theory classes.
What about a job?
There is a website: www.make-it-in-germany.com. This site will give you a list of number of jobs available in a particular sector. The country also allows you to stay for 18 months to look for a job which one can get in under six months. There is campus placement for students who excel. Some students may end up with a job even before they complete their programme.
