Another way of life

Switching Cities

Many students in Bangalore are willing to move to new places  to pursue studies

While there is no dearth of educational opportunities for any student in Bangalore, there is something to be said for pursuing their further studies in other places — not only in terms of a higher quality of education but particularly, because settling down in a new place can provide a treasure of exposure and several interesting experiences.

It’s easier said than done, though; for someone born and brought up in Bangalore, adapting to the way of life in a new place might seem a little alarming at first.

Metrolife speaks to a few students to find out how open their community is to the idea.
Nikita, who studies in Baldwin Women’s Methodist College, is evidently all for it. She has, she explains, been in Bangalore all her life and she’s raring to get a taste of life in other cities.

“My only criterion is that I want to go to a metropolitan, like Bangalore,” she admits. “A place like Kolkata or Delhi would be interesting. I don’t think I’d prefer staying in a smaller town because at the end of the day, it would be tough to adapt — we get used to so many facilities living in Bangalore, and it won’t be easy to live without them,” she adds.

However, she does believe that studying in a different city would make for quite a good experience — especially considering she’s never lived anywhere other than
Bangalore.

“I am born and brought up here — so, I’d love to explore an entirely different city. The exposure would do me good. At the end of the day, I’m not going to be a Bangalorean my whole life — I might get opportunities in other parts of the country — so it makes sense to travel to different places and meet people there,” she explains.

Other students feel that enrolling in a particular course in a different city might offer them a better quality of education.

Akshay, who studies in Jain University, plans to pursue his CA after this and would like to do so in Mumbai.

“I have read many articles and heard from many people about the quality of colleges there. Similarly, there are very good institutions in other cities as well — it’s
important for students to travel and get exposure,” he reflects.

However, he’s quick to clarify that this doesn’t mean he’s contemptuous of the
standard of education in Bangalore — “That’s not the case at all. I’ve lived here my whole life and there are some very good institutions here,” he says.

Nupur, an engineering student, agrees with this view — but she feels that most students who want to leave the City prefer to study at international colleges.

“Generally, those who get placed straight out of college stay behind in Bangalore. But students who want to pursue their higher studies right away tend to go abroad,” she states, adding, “From what I’ve seen, a lot of engineering students prefer to study in the USA or Germany, where the quality of teaching of pure engineering subjects is very high.”