Of late, there is a new wave of global movement: that of youngsters in the 18 to 25 age group going abroad for their studies. The allure of foreign universities is being buttressed by powerful campaigning. What are the factors causing this exodus? What is the impact on Indian society and economy?
Factors
One of the reasons for this exodus is the struggle to find jobs in India after graduation. Students believe that there is scope to lead a better life abroad. After completing their studies, they continue to live there to improve their lives, both financially and academically. Another aspect is the liberal lifestyle in many foreign countries, which offers students a level of freedom that may not be possible in their homes. A third aspect is the possibility of earning while they study.
There is also the perception that studying in a foreign university carries more prestige than being in an Indian institution. It is also true that admission to prestigious Indian institutions is difficult and only a small percentage of students are able to find a seat. With the relative ease of admission in colleges abroad, more students are able to fulfil their dreams of higher education.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was meant to bring Indian universities on a par with foreign universities with focus on research, critical thinking and problem-solving and offering equal opportunities for learning in diverse areas, improved teacher training and infrastructure development. But it will take time to implement and to be effective. While India overcomes the challenges of establishing research-based education, students opt to go abroad to find such an ecosystem.
Consequences
The first impact of this is the potential loss of talented manpower. We often see media highlighting achievements of Indians abroad but rarely is the question of why they could not achieve the same heights here asked. We read of students in India developing new technologies but nothing is heard of what happened to these innovations. This loss can hit hard particularly in fields such as healthcare and engineering. Then there is the economic effect. Rarely do students who go abroad for higher studies come back to contribute to the Indian economy. Their life is bound up with the country they reside in.
All this should make us relook our academic culture and come to new understanding of what we need to offer our students in this fast-changing world.
Geeta Gopinath is Faculty of Education and Maneesha N. is Faculty of Economics at the National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode.
