Fixing Indian Higher Education is the ideal way to rescue students

Context: Ukraine Crisis has brought the issues faced by Indian students going abroad for education

Problems faced by Foreign University Studying Students?

Crisis Situation: like the covid pandemic forced India to carry out largest rescue operations from China and the current war situation in Ukraine forcing Indian students to stand at a loss.

Impact of crisis situation: The abrupt discontinuation of foreign education takes a severe toll on students. They had to suffer on educational, economic, mental health and physical fronts.

Why do Indian students go abroad to pursue higher studies?

Status of Indian Students Studying Abroad

There are over 1.1 million Indian students studying in 99 countries across the world.

What is lost in case of Indian students studying abroad ?

Monetary Loss: India’s budget for higher education is estimated at ₹1.04 trillion for fiscal year 2022-23. But Indian students studying abroad spend more than ₹2 trillion for their education which is lost by the Indian exchequer.

Loss of human resources: India’s gross enrolment ratio (GER) for higher education is just above 27%. The National Education Policy 2020 envisages achieving a GER of 50% by 2030.

Inadequate Infrastructure: Our present education infrastructure is inadequate even for handling demand at a GER of 27%.

What measures should be taken to arrest this drain of wealth and human resources?

One, increase the supply of public and private institutions. Promote and incentivize private entities to set up educational institutions.

Two, rationalize the country’s current caste-based reservation system. Introduce a ‘creamy layer’ criterion for Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe candidates. It could also enforce the seat reservation-limit that was mandated by a Supreme Court ruling.

Three, there is a need to standardize the curriculum across universities. For example, facilitate inter-disciplinarily learning and promote research-oriented education.

Four, start scholarships and on-campus jobs such as those for research and teaching assistants, etc.

Fifth, facilitate loans for education.

Conclusion

The plight of Indian students is not merely an issue of a large gap between demand and supply. A good-quality education can lead to the creation of better human resources and will be an asset for the country over the long term.

Source: The post is based on an article “Fixing Indian Higher Education is the ideal way to rescue students” published in the livemint on 16^th march 2022