Get on the education bus
South Asian and African countries see India as an attractive option. We should capitalise on this
The US has always been a magnet for Indian students and now the figures suggest that there is an increase in the number of those joining universities there. The Open Doors, an annual report on international students in the US compiled by the Institute of International Education, says that in 2015 there was a 30% increase in students from other countries going to the US over the previous year. Of this, India is the second leading place of origin for students and 13.6% of the international student population is Indian.
The US system has a number of attractions. The courses are very varied and flexible. Here a student getting into a graduate course has to stick with the subjects chosen, in the US the student has the option to change midstream if he or she wants to. Students who need financial resources are able to access these from a variety of sources and universities help them in this process. In India, private scholarships are difficult to obtain and the conditions for getting a government grant are tough and restricted largely to students in the reservation quota. Students abroad are able to get internships, which helps them later in the job market. Perhaps the one major attraction is the synergy between academics and industry. Many courses are tailored to help students get jobs, again quite a departure from the largely academically-oriented curriculum in India. Research opportunities are also limited in India as many higher educational institutions do not have enough infrastructure or faculty for this.
The US sinks about $300 billion in higher education. India should consider investing much more in higher education as this will not only benefit our students but could be a potentially huge revenue generator. Already students from neighbouring and African countries see India as an attractive education destination since it is cheaper and the medium is English. We should cast the net wider. One thing that ought to be done without delay is to ensure that foreign students feel welcome here. This has not always been the case, especially with African students, who face racial slurs and even violence. We must have a proactive policy of going out and seeking students once we have a more flexible and student-friendly system in place. The gains are enormous and we should not miss the bus. There are many lessons we can learn from the US, and how to structure higher education and attract a wider variety of students are certainly some of them.