Hyderabad,   Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an upward trend in the number of students from Telangana planning to study abroad.

A survey by Mumbai-based Yocket, one of India's largest platforms for study abroad aspirants, found out that many students who wanted to study abroad in 2020 but could not go due to travel restrictions and financial instability, have deferred their plans for 2021.

The survey, based on a sample size of about 30,000 students from the state, found that 90 per cent of the students are keen to study abroad.

Around 8,000 students went to study abroad from Telangana in 2019. The number went up by 17 per cent in 2020 and surprisingly there is a huge spike in the number of students to 62 per cent in 2021, as compared to 2019.

The US, the UK and Canada are the most popular destinations for Telangana students. Over 90 per cent of the students are going to these three countries. Australia and European countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland are also popular among the rest of the students.

Computer Science is still the most popular course with about 50 per cent of students planning for it. Courses with a mix of management and technology like Management Information Systems (MIS) are also gaining popularity in recent years, as per the survey. Other popular courses range from Information Technology to varied engineering courses like Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Chemical Engineering.

Yocket has also found out that the majority of the students from Telangana are planning to fund their education by the means of an education loan. About 55 per cent of students have preferred to take loans for their study abroad plans while 30 per cent of students are willing to arrange it by themselves and 15 per cent of students want a scholarship.

"The pandemic could certainly slow down the study abroad aspirants' plans last year, but it is evidently not the case in 2021. We have witnessed an upward trend in the number of students willing to study abroad from different states with Telangana leading. Lots of students who had planned but were unable to travel in 2020 have deferred their plans to 2021 and 2022 intakes. We will definitely see a major increase in these intakes as things get better," Yocket co-founder Tumul Buch said.