Journey of Indian student in UK

I come from a middle class family and have always dreamt to study in a foreign country and eventually settle there. This urge was so encapsulating that I wanted to go to England at any cost. So I researched about visiting countries and Britain appealed me the most. Other countries in the world are maintaining good standards in education but education system in UK is much advanced and more forward when we compare it with India. Most of the students from middle class families, as soon as they finish higher secondary and got graduated from the universities they search for the universities in the UK to fly for their Bachelors or “Masters” degree.

Difference in the education system of India and UK

Here syllabus and curriculum is based upon rote learning and does not nurture experiential understanding of concepts and topics. We get loads of information based content and no emphasis is laid on the way the learners utilize it for their benefits or making a career out of it. On the other hand Important questions are marked by our tutors basis previous year papers and their own intelligence to help the learner pass the examination.

Where as in UK there are assignments and no examinations are conducted. Facilitators teach us basic concepts on a particular subject and it is our responsibility to complete assignment on our own by researching through online websites, articles, podcast and books. To understand the depth and knowledge of the subjects universities conduct workshops and seminars. One more important aspect is that there is plagiarism system which prevents us from copying from Google, books and previous batch assignments, due to this process rather than studying theoretically student also indulge and engage in obtaining clarity of the subject as well as practical knowledge on the subject. Tuition fee in the UK universities are exponentially high in our Indian currency depending upon the course and time period you choose.

Students who want to enhance skills on preferred subject, capable of doing assignments and can bear the tuition fee, I suggest them UK is the perfect destination to settle for studies.

How culturally India is miles ahead than UK?

Family

In India we are very close and to our family, everyone in the family stay together for their entire life but in UK as soon as boy or girl finds a partner, they separate from the parents and live in a live in relationship arrangement. Indian culture is completely different from UK, we love and respect our parents and take care of them in all situations like financially, mentally and physically till their death. However in UK they occasionally visit on weddings, mothers day, hospitalization, parties. When UK citizens become old if they need any help government provides care takers and nurses to help and monitor their health conditions, few residents look for private caretakers which depends on their financial situation.

Discrimination and Castes

They still consider themselves as superiors against citizens of Asian countries as post-colonization syndrome still prevails though they do not care about the caste system, no reservations on jobs. Their idea of being superior by the colour of the skin still has an impression in their minds which sometimes takes expression in different forms and manners. In India, we can see everyday on electronic, social and print media about caste tragedy, even today few of the political parties are formed under the name of the castes. For government jobs and few private jobs our caste plays a major role even today!

From the education perspective only a handful of private colleges and schools are available in the UK. Unlike India, 80% of the kids and students go to Government schools and there is no bifurcation in the education system of the country catering to VIP’s and rank and file people. International migrated IT professional son’s and care-takers shall sit in the same classroom without paying any fee. But in India, the situation is worse compared to the UK system because government schools lack basic amenities and parents who could not afford to let their children study are the ones who send their kids to government school. 70% of Indian kids and students are studying in the private schools, parents who are fit enough financially and are moderately rich are sending their children to private institutions but in UK, Education is for All!

Festivals

In India, we celebrate so many festivals every year but the UK hardly celebrates any. They celebrate 3 to 4 festivals in a year. For every festival, there will be holidays for us in India and we go to our villages or joint families to celebrate festivals with a large group of people. Whereas in the UK they will get holidays only for Christmas and New year in between 15 to 20 days.

Festivals are the symbolisation of being together and enjoying the warmth of people around you! One of the reasons why India still has Unity in Diversity is because of these festivals and the youth nurtured in this culture is far more “Inclusive” than any other country in the world!

Food

OH come on! You can’t compare any other Country with India when it comes to food. We make fresh batter and dough for each meal and do not eat foods which are refrigerated or frozen however British meals are mostly bread and cereals. 70% of them eat toast with marmalade or jam and 30% will have cereals. So if you are moving without a family, you should know how to cook Indian food else you may miss Indian cuisines and may have to rely on frozen or months preserved canned appetizers.

Come to lunch as an Indian . We prefer rice with curry or dal, both vegetarian and Non vegetarian curries. We cook them in the morning or else if we are at home we will cook freshly at lunch time. In the UK they get instant foods in supermarkets and by heating them in the oven for a few minutes their lunch is ready such as pasta, sandwiches, salads, soups, noodles etc…..

Finally when it comes to dinner in India we prefer rice or dough based items and sometimes street food like Manchurian, noodles…. In the UK they order items such as pizza, fish pie in the restaurants or shops, if they are not hungry they will just drink a cup of tea with biscuits. It completely depends on the person’s choice but for sure their meal is not at all healthy in comparison to what we cook. We eat much more lavishly with less proteins!

Indian mothers will cook varieties of sweets and India is full of sweet shops where sweets are hygiene cooked. In UK instead of sweets they prefer eating puddings.

Car driving

United kingdom citizens follow the traffic rules and the signs on the road at any cost. Everyone in Britain pays tax on their car. Cars are allowed to drive only registered people. It is illegal to drive unregistered people such as friends, family members or others.

In India, a license is enough to drive a car, we can drive any car of family and friends. The UK is systematic in following driving rules and regulations but in India people do not follow rules and disrespect the police after breaking rules.

Culture inside the companies

In the UK working hours are between 8 to 9 hours including breaks whereas in India some companies keep employees up to 11–14 hours per day without paying Over Time, If She/he stays more than the office working hours in the UK company will pay extra depending on employees hourly salary. Most of the UK companies run under hourly payments. Employees will leave their desk when they finish their office hours in the UK but in India we stay till we reach our target or finish work. Saturday and Sunday are off days in UK but in India Saturday is a working day. If an employee works on Saturday and Sunday in the UK he or she will get double pay on an hourly basis.

Employment opportunities for Students in the UK

Britain is a small country compared to India. UK provides opportunities to study in their country, every year the percentage of the students who are flying for masters are increasing. When the candidate finishes his or her course 50% of the students return to their countries, 30% extend their visa by applying to another course and if modules are pending or failed assignments, 20% are getting jobs. Hence the Study to Getting the Job ratio is too less! Except the fact, that you can keep working in menial jobs till you find one for yourself.

There are more opportunities for white collar jobs such as health care workers, nurses, customer delivery, waiter, housekeeper and so on.

When you are a student in the UK if a student wants to survive financially to pay rents and monthly expenses, the student has to work in shops, care homes, data entry ….. If a student has money to survive, the best option for them to try volunteer and unpaid jobs in companies they are interested in. By the time a student get a degree he or she will have experience or company that makes them permanent.

In UK health care Professionals like doctors, researchers on cancer or any other disease, social worker are in high demand. It is easy to get a visa and get settled down for a masters student in the medical field.

Settlement in UK

You can settle in the UK if the company provides you a visa. After a few years as an Indian you get bored and frustrated of living alone and missing your families, friends, neighbours, festivals……..

Good amount of earnings will be there when we compare with Indian currency. If you settle in the UK as an Indian rooted person it is not possible to fly to India for each festival, deaths and births in the family.

At the end of the day it is an individual’s choice to what they are comfortable with. Who wants to settle down unless they have a survival crisis or a desire to live in a raised and upmarket life style! So choose wisely and then take a decision. Students who are sound financially, if they are interested to do masters I suggest the UK is their perfect destination. Students who want to survive in the UK with part time jobs for them my suggestion would be if you are ready to do menial jobs while studying. Because you have a better future ahead and this is just a temporary arrangement to move up the ladder.

I explained and shared 3 years of life and observation of my stay in UK! So before you settle down or thinking of doing so think deeply about it!