Indian Education Sector to Expand

For years now, India has been sending its best and brightest students to study at foreign universities.

According to the National Knowledge Commission of India, more than 160,000 Indian students are currently enrolled in colleges and universities abroad, paying fees of roughly four billion US dollars. Every seventh foreign student at university in the United States is an Indian.

Now, the government is planning to open up India’s heavily-regulated educational sector to foreign universities in order to stem the brain drain.

Transformation of the education sector

Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal said the move would transform the education sector: “If you are spending 20 million US dollars by sending your children out, you can transform the education sector by investing 20 million US dollars into it.”

He explained that that it was important “to open up the education sector to greater investments and to allow children to go to the school they want without any concern about where the money is from” by putting in place a loan scheme.

In terms of enrolment, India has the third-largest higher education system in the world -- after China and the US. There are 10 million students enrolled at over 400 universities and nearly 21,000 colleges. Huge investment is needed if the government is to achieve its target of 21 million students by 2012.

World-class educational hub

The government is keen for India to become a world-class educational hub with access to global institutions. It especially wants to create a pool of skilled managers to secure its economic future.

It is determined to take advantage of the strength of its youth, as the average age of citizens in other nations is much higher.

Prof Sanjay Srivastava from the Institute of Economic Growth thought it was more important to ensure the learning environment was appropriate: “One of the key concerns is that what we do not really need so many Harvards or Yales but universities that are suited to Indian conditions.”

Students are excited

Siddarth Misra, a student who now studies in the US, is excited about the proposal to open up the education sector: “I think it is great for India. The brain drain -- all the students who were leaving India for jobs and opportunities overseas can come back.”

“There will be more opportunity here as well as foreign students having the opportunity to come to India as an emerging market. There is a lot going on and it’s an exciting place to be. I know for myself that if I had the opportunity to come to India and study in an American institution I would definitely look into that.”

The legislation still needs to be approved by Indian Parliament and the government also has to ease regulatory roadblocks and find a way to make education a financially viable business for all concerned. But once that is done, many more Indian students will be able to stay at home to study.

Author: Murali Krishnan (New Delhi)
Editor: Anne Thomas