IELTS aspirant in a fix after closure of coaching centres

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 8

Lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19 hit the career goals of Gurpal Kaur, who recently appeared for Class XII examination and planned to join International English Language Testing System (IELTS) coaching center. Gurpal had joined the IELTS centre after his exams in March, but the government imposed lockdown. Now she has to wait for the opening of her coaching centre.

“The IELTS training centers are offering online coaching, but it has not been much effective. I need group discussions to improve my speaking skills. So I have to be there at the centre whenever it opens,” said Gurpal Kaur.

“Now, I had to join a degree college to avoid gap in my study. Had everything been alright, I would have left for abroad in September itself. Now, I will not be able to appear for IELTS till August. The visa processing will also take time. Everything went wrong. It will raise the financial burden on my parents,” she said. The students, who aspire to study at New Zealand and Australia, are worried about the government’s policies about the international students.

“A few countries changed the rules for International students after pandemic. Canadian colleges are offering online courses. Even they may change the immigration rules. I am worried if these countries might change the norms for international students. All I can do is just hope that things turn into normal. I will prepare for IELTS during this time,” said Gurpal Kaur.