Hundreds of thousands of international students are rendered helpless, destitute and estranged as they survive the coronavirus pandemic on meagre ends with increasing reliance on essential food and medicines donated by charities and community organisations. Financial distress has not just impacted their academic results but clamped down on their emotional and mental well-being as they cope through depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. While some are requesting that the universities halve their academic fees at a time when they have practically not availed campus facilities, others are still job-hunting for any and all available part-time jobs in a bid to pay-off their tuition fees and rent.
22-year-old Shivangi Sharma, is studying for her Master’s degree at the University of Bedfordshire. While she was able to apply for a £500 hardship fund from the University, other students who have not paid their tuition fees in full have not been fortunate of the same. Speaking about how SEVA (Social Education Voluntary Association) Trust UK, helped her with ration kits during the pandemic, she said, “There is a national lockdown in the UK and the funds and savings that we had got with us were all spent in the first two-three months of our arrival on rent and food supplies.
“There are no part-time jobs and I did not have resources to survive. I could not have approached my parents for help because their business has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. We contacted local UK charities such as SEVA Trust and Go Dharmic who helped us with regular hot meals. Currently, my friend is struggling to pay his tuition fees. He requested the University to accept small instalments of £200-£300 based on the amount he earns from his part-time job. But the University had been urging that he pay bigger instalments of £600-£800 which is difficult to accumulate during these times. SEVA Trust intervened and Cllr Charan Sekhon spoke directly with the University’s Deputy Chancellor and resolved our hardships.”
In the 2018-19 academic year - the last for which figures are available - overseas students accounted for 20 per cent of those studying in UK higher education, with people from outside the EU paying annual fees of between £14,000 and £20,000. Many have come together to feed the international students, who otherwise have had no recourse to public funds or hardship funds through universities. While their parents in India or elsewhere pay fee in advance or in instalments but for day to day running expenses, they are usually earned by students through part-time jobs, as they don’t have huge savings. There were 485,600 overseas students at UK universities in 2018-19, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, with 343,000 from non-EU countries such as China and India. In 2019-20, 35% of all non-EU students were from China and it continues to be the biggest source of international enrolments, with 141,870 students representing a 56% increase over five years since 2015-16. The 55,465 students in UK higher education in 2019-20 from India is up from 16,890 in 2015-16 – representing a 228% increase over the five years, and is a further increase on the 42% hike witnessed in 2018-19. But experts predict that the number is likely to decline this year owing to uncertainties around the pandemic.
SEVA Trust UK provides ration kits and help accessing hardship funds
When the pandemic started, with the first lockdown, the Indian community put their strengths together to fund and feed youngsters, but over time and with Vande Bharat flights being operational, they naturally thought that the situation has normalised or improved. But as courses finished and new international students arrived in September, problems started resurfacing, especially with UK’s longest lockdown that paralysed the nation.
SEVA Trust UK over last 11 months fed more than 650 Indian students. Cllr Charan Sekhon from the charity told Asian Voice, “We are an educational charity. We have done a lot of work in Bedfordshire and in India.
“This year due to pandemic, our management decided to feed the starving kids. When the first lockdown started, we organised a foodbank. On 25 March 2020 we started food hub for international students as unlike home students they could not go back to their families. Most of them had lost their part-time jobs, which was their main source of income. There are a lot of university accommodations that do not have common kitchens or facilities in the rooms. Students there depend on accommodation canteens or mess or restaurants, and they came to a standstill within 48 hours. Without these and no income, the students living on their own, were left without food.
“We contacted three universities around Bedford, and they had no idea or system in place, with people working remotely. So, we set up a dedicated food hub and that was carried on.”
SEVA has put together parcels, that would last students from two to four weeks and they can request for a top up. The members and volunteers bought essential items in bulks from supermarkets with donations from members of the community and organisations.
“When students find a part-time job, they stop taking these parcels. We have three types of parcels. Most have 10 - 15 items including tinned food, bulk rice, spices (for those who have kitchens but no means to buy food), pasta, atta, tea bags, coffee, snacks, toilet papers, handwash and other essentials. People have been so generous. Lot of individuals came forward, including Indian women groups, to help and we did not have to actively crowd fund.”
The charity does not invite any students to the storage area to ensure safety. Volunteers go to the students with food parcels after they have been contacted via social media, website or phone calls.
“We do an initial screening to understand the situation with students,” said Cllr Sekhon. “We look at their university ID number, their official email and course name. Then we go and deliver the parcels to their doorstep. We have even provided hot food in occasions.”
But why are universities still bringing international students over, when they cannot support them?
“There is a mixed picture,” said Cllr Sekhon. “Some have worked very hard once we have made them aware that there is a problem with students. Some universities have put together additional help through emergency or hardship funds.”
Originally hardship funds were not available to international students, because they were meant to be self-reliant and self-sufficient financially, according to the Home Office. But as situation worsened, students’ body like NISAU and organisations like SEVA Trust UK urged them to extend the aid to international students as well.
Cllr Sekhon said, “We argued that the circumstances have changed. These students who had a lot of money set aside, have no longer access to that. Some of the students’ parents have lost jobs or businesses in India due to the pandemic. The top up income through part-time jobs have gone too. So, we told the concerned universities that you must consider helping these students financially. Some have not only given hardship funds to these students but also provided laptops to study from home. They have also taken on board recommendation to give students staying at university accommodations rent breaks. On the other hand, some universities have been very harsh, threatening to report students to Home Office if they failed to pay rents. So, we got in touch with those universities too and explained the situation and tried to resolve the issues.”
However, there are many students who haven’t had any such assistance. Cllr Sekhon said, “We cannot take things on case-by-case basis, as we don’t have resource to tackle it. Lot of students have also suffered in silence in absence of any help.”
But praising the community effort, he said, “The Indian High Commission put together a list of charities and community organisations who are helping Indian diaspora and students, and we could recommend many students to local charities/organisations using that list. 50-60 organisations came together along with the High Commission and created a WhatsApp group too. Queries are posted in there, and we have been able to help each other through that.
“I have also used the list by referring students, since we work in Bedfordshire only. There are many charities that work in London and some students, while remote learning, have moved to London, looking for part-time jobs, and this group helps.”
London mosque-based charity helping students
Among other such organisations helping these students is the Newham Community Project, a London mosque-based charity providing food to over 1300 students every week.
Elyas Ismail of the Newham Community Project told the newsweekly, "We started last year from Ramadan. We decided to help and make and distribute meals on Iftar. We started with 20-30 meals a day. Within a week we had students who were asking for help - basically for food. So, within one month, towards the end of Ramadan, we were giving out meals to approximately 800 students a day.
“Honestly, when we first met the students, they were in terrible shape. Because of the lockdown, everything was shut. The universities were closed. There was nobody to answer the phone calls or reply to their emails. For many of them, it was their first-time outside India, they were hardly 19-20 years old. Some even had suicide thoughts. You know what the saddest part was? Although they had no other support here, universities used to send them generic emails about ‘you need to pay your fees’. Some of the emails that we saw were awful.
“At the end of Ramadan, we were going to stop distributing food, but we just decided to carry on. Since then, we have been giving them a week’s supply of food every week. We give them rice, oil, pasta, bread, eggs, chocolates and cereals. We give them cooked meals as well when they come. At the moment, we are helping 2000 students a week. It’s getting worse. The longer the lockdown continues, they won’t get part-time work and no money to pay their fees or rent. We’ve met students who we’ve put in hotels, helped them in getting accommodation. It’s just heart-breaking.
“Half-an-hour ago I met a student who turned 19 recently. He’s an undergraduate student. He was in a bad shape. I had tears in my eyes. He said my dad is a farmer and they have borrowed £10,000 to pay his fee. He needs about £30,000 over three years! He wants to go back home because he can’t find work here. He looks up to me as a father. A lot of these students have lost hope.
When asked about donations, and how he has supported the students for so long, Elyas added, “We had no grants from the government. It’s all from the community. We want to carry on. We will carry on. At the end of the day all our shops are completely empty, and we refill it every day. If 10 months back someone would have told me that we would be serving 2000 students, I wouldn’t have believed them."
When it came to coordinating with the students during Covid-19, National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK was the first to start helping out. The Union has over 60 WhatsApp groups and a good presence on social media, and they were able to coordinate with the students easily to help them out through the pandemic. A 360 model of support was put up, including help with food and disseminating critical information.
Sanam Arora, Founder and Chairperson, NISAU told us, “We think an assurance from the Home Office that students will not be penalised for changes to their financial situation that are leading to them needing help, will go a long way.
“NISAU’s 7-point recommendation to the Universities UK:
1. Proactive communications from all universities ensuring students know of the support that is available.
2. Ensure international students are eligible for hardship funds at their university.
3. Introduce a cross-sector and government student protection scheme for international students with input from students and key representative bodies.
4. Universities to exercise extreme compassion when dealing with students who are unable to pay their fees on time due to economic impacts of Covid - including care that communications do not inadvertently lead to fear and distress
5. Immediate access to basic food supplies by the university - vegetarian where necessary - without students needing to provide proof of a lack of funds. Such proof can follow during the longer administrative process but must not stop emergency food provision.
6. Temporary removal of the usual position of no recourse to public funds during a pandemic to facilitate emergency support.
7. Home Office assurance that in the current exceptional pandemic circumstances that students will not suffer adversely if they request financial support - explicit no detriment to visa status due to changes in financial circumstances.”
(Additional reporting by Shefali Saxena).
