Why Indians go abroad for higher studies?

Over the past few years, the graph representing the incidence of Indians pursuing higher education and further studies abroad has been on the rise. While the reasons for this choice can be many, most of the students have attributed better infrastructure, promising global opportunities with scholarships and sound technology to their decision to pursue higher studies outside India.

The increasing loss of the Indian youth to foreign countries has created a situation as challenging as what has been called “brain drain” which could be a matter of great concern for the country’s economy and necessitates the amendment of certain norms and policies to strengthen the foundations of the Indian education system. 

When looking at this crisis from the perspective of a student, the first thing that always comes to my mind when I think of the Indian education system is the unexplainable importance it gives to academic grades and marks as a scale for defining a scholar’s intelligence and knowledge. In contrast to the foreign education system where the representation of skills and aptitude through performance in challenging assignments, helps one discover their own potential and passion for pursuing a particular specialization.

With the flexibility to make a choice for their career whether it be in a field like music or medicine is not only treated with equal respect but offers promising opportunities in multiple specialized fields in which we in India may be at a slight disadvantage. 

A stereotypical belief in some Indian families still exists that most other professions cannot even be remotely associated with the stature and prestige that a doctor or an engineer brings to the family. For a few others in the crowd who dare to dream beyond parental pressure and to break the taboo, have to experience tremendous struggle to establish themselves.

The struggle begins with making it through to the admission process of prestigious national institutes which are recognized globally marked by highly competitive selection procedures involving the participation of candidates in lakhs. With the country’s reservation policies for the economically and socially backward communities, for whom the competitive advantage is huge, while for most of the general candidates the standards of the competition are further raised to qualify for available positions at the university level.  

To worsen the existing scenario in terms of an increased number of Indians leaving the country to avail opportunities abroad, the limitations in the number of institutions which have failed to meet the benchmark quality of education to be recognized globally has deprived many deserving students to further their academic aspirations in India.

The lack of sufficient funds to develop the technological infrastructure and provide satisfactory good quality education has been a cause of great disappointment for scholars. Not to blame it alone on the administrative structure of colleges, addressing the interference of political influence and corruption in most of the academic institutions across India at the grass root level, has affected the regulation of the existing education system to promise good quality education to students. 

The very fact that the economic advancement of India has been adversely impacted by “brain drain” testifies to the fact that Indians do possess the capabilities to be accepted in globally recognized education programs. However, the restrictions imposed on the possibilities of being trained and prepared beyond textual knowledge and the inability to appreciate the importance of technical and practical skills have hindered their progress, unfortunately in their own country.

A conducive environment promoting research and development across diverse domains of art, science, technology and culture has drawn the attention of students from all over the world, India being no exception in this regard. The multitude of opportunities made available to students, the acknowledgment of their contributions and active participation supported by advanced technological expertise has served as an impetus for them to perform better. Besides, the true sense of being a part of a collaborative network and working with a culturally diverse community in the professional front is a promising exposure to students of different nationalities, just as it holds for Indians. 

With an increasing number of students leaving India to pursue higher education in foreign countries, India in its attempt to come to terms with the arising situation, has chosen to give more importance to foreign degrees and students affiliated to international institutes when it comes to offering employment opportunities with better packages.

More often, the students who leave the country for their academic pursuits settle down outside India permanently due to a better job or research opportunities. This could put students who have not stepped a foot outside India for academics at a potential disadvantage in competing for jobs with foreign degree-holders.  

No matter how much we deny it, the fact that most of the Indian students resort to pursuing higher studies outside the country is itself a reason strong enough to point at the existing loopholes of the existing education system. A limited number of seats in high-quality educational institutes and unexplained reservation policies, poor quality academic services and political intervention in the Indian education system outweigh the possibility of better employment opportunities, higher salaries and easily available scholarships as potential causes of this “brain drain”.

In a situation as this, it becomes important to redress and amend the discrepancies in the Indian education system, to make available promising academic opportunities to the student community so that they prioritize pursuing further education in India over any other foreign country.