New wave; Study abroad

The young, brilliant & meritorious minds from India prefer studying in foreign universities. The Indian students migrating to universities abroad has reached all the time high with 3,05,195 students pursuing higher education in various foreign universities as per the March 2019 UNESCO report.

The migration from India is witnessing a 4 to 4.5% increase year by year. At least Over 350+ students migrate from Belagavi districts every year as per the Wings International Abroad Study Counselling Centre, Belagavi. Migrating for higher education is criticized by certain sections of academic administrators in the country. But, students/parents have their own justification and it is imminently seen in the burgeoning increase in student inputs as per the UNESCO report. India is ranked second when it comes to students who leave the country to study abroad (School Apply report)

The passion to pursue higher education abroad is not a new phenomenon. Much before the freedom struggle Father of the Nation Gandhiji, Pandit Nehru, Subash Candra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Vallabhabhai Patel, B R Ambedkar many veteran freedom fighters had studied abroad. But, the only difference is they all returned to India and plunged in freedom struggle. Unfortunately, today’s young talented minds after completion of their studies in abroad are not returning back for contribution to the growth & progress of the country.

Brief admission scenario for Premier Courses:

This Year 2020 for JEE Exam; 11,18,673 students have registered for examination. Subsequently, qualified students will get admission to premier Institutions like IIT’s & NIT’s. In the country, 23 IIT’s have an intake capacity of 11,289 & 31 NIT’s can accommodate 17,967 qualified students. This amount to only over 2.6 % students will be able to crack the exam and make it to either IITs or NIT. What is the fate of 97.4 %, they look either at Engineering Colleges or eye towards foreign Universities.

For the NEET exam, 15,19,375 students are writing the exam on 13th Sept 2020 amidst pandemic & flood threats at various states. The total number of seats available for MBBS admission is 76,928 (which includes 41,388 Govt. Medical College seats). Only 5% of students will qualify and get admission to the undergraduate medical program.

High cut-off rankings deprive academically brilliant students for admission to a course of their choice and college. Meritorious students with decent financial background opt for study at foreign Institutions. Most of the abroad Institutions have their Liaison Offices at major metros of India which offer counseling, travel, accommodation, transparent admission, organizing finances with earn while learning facilities at their universities. Apart from these factors the reservation policy also denies them seats are the factors driving an increasing number of Indian students opting for a leap towards foreign universities.

Why study abroad:

Studying abroad gives the students the confidence and the university degree is recognized globally. Students will have to manage all the aspects themselves, they immediately become self-independent. In abroad, students are engaged in active learning through class participation, dialogue exchange, case studies, practical, off- and on-campus experiences that make learning exciting and meaningful. The flexibility to opt from wide spectrum subjects of their choice, freedom to work on a part-time basis while studying adds to the overall appeal of earning a degree abroad.

The new learning atmosphere which is practically driven and based on the shop floor, filed visits, deliberations from rich academia, experts from a cross-section of the community gives them vast exposure. Indian students who are bored with years of stereotype learning will get ample exposure to interactive learning based on the latest technology. In few months adaptive Indian students develop as global citizens, with high self-esteem. Indians are more accepted owing to their cultural diversities, logical thinking, dependent, team players & extremely hard working. The culmination of these qualities probably is the reason for the majority CEOs of the MNCs who are of Indian origin.

Even Postgraduates and Researchers prefer to pursue their studies in the USA, UK, Singapore & Canada, and Britain which offer abundant resources to students with sophisticated technologies, equipment, and infrastructure to conduct in-depth research and world-renowned supervisors. Better job prospects, handsome salary immediately after completion of their projects makes it an attractive proposition to do research abroad.

Edunomics:

On average, per year course in USA cost anywhere between Rs 25-30 lakh per annum which includes college fees, stay & travel. Over 3 lakh Indian students could be paying approximately Rs. 9000/- crores for gaining knowledge from abroad.

Can Indian Universities Stand up to the Challenge:

This is the appropriate time for Indian University to introspect and learn from their counterparts abroad. Indian universities need to update the skills of teachers, drastically change the teaching methodologies, create infrastructure, practical based, critical thinking, interactive learning to be adopted & re-design their curriculum to meet the ever-growing demands of Industry and prepare global citizens to face the tough challenges. With National Educational Policy (NEP) soon to be implemented, 100 foreign universities expected to enter the Indian education domain it is going to be a tough challenge and a wakeup call for Indian universities.

Dr. Pramod N Sulikeri, Ph.D

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