Follow us
There are many reasons as to why India is not a popular destination of higher education for international students. Some of the major reasons have been discussed here.
The budget announced by the finance minister comprises a programme aimed at attracting foreign students to pursue their higher education in the establishments and institutes of India. This has highlighted an issue that has been plaguing the most sought after management and engineering institutes of India- getting international students on board for full-time courses.
The prestigious IIMs and IITs have admitted themselves that foreign students matter in spite of the fierce competition among the best and brightest minds of India to get admission to these institutes. Diversity in an institute helps in encouraging creative problem-solving, better exchange of ideas, adaptability, and innovation.
The higher agenda of the Indian government is also focused on making India a hub of higher education and bringing in more students from overseas under the initiative of ‘Study in India.’ Foreign students also play an important role in the international ranking of any institute. The recent QS World University Rankings have also shown that the institutes of India have witnessed an average decline of 12 ranks. A major factor that led to this dip in the rankings of the Indian institutes was the poor ratios of international students. Not even a single IIT could make it to the top 150.
The research director at Quacquarelli Symonds, Ben Sowter, attributed selectivity to be the major issue. He said that the entry standards of the premier Indian institutes are so high that the international students eligible to seek admission are few and they already have the calibre that can get them accepted at the topmost institutes globally like Stanford, MIT, Caltech, etc. The editor of global rankings at Times Higher Education, Ellie Bothwell, said that the quality of the Higher Education sector of India, inclusive of the quality of infrastructure, is also a major barrier in attracting foreign students.
Also Read:Top Universities and Colleges in India for International Students
In the case of IIMs, offering scholarships to international students and willing to compromise on the GMAT score can prove to help the situation significantly. The owner of GMAT, the Graduate Management Admission Council, has launched its initiative of ‘Study in India’ in 2017 in order to rebuild the attractiveness of the country as a study destination for higher education. In its first year, Study in India received 2,715 leads from sixty-odd countries and in the second year the number went up to 4,429.
However, apart from the Indian School of Business (ISB) and some other private business schools that have been offering proper financial aid, hardly any other institute managed to convert the applications. The international students look at India as a cost-effective destination for pursuing higher education and the fact that these Indian institutes are not willing to give scholarships has become an issue.
Gaurav Srivastava, GMAC’s Regional Director for South Asia, said that the Indian institutes are hesitant in giving scholarships. He also told that expected GMAT scores are too high in India. For example, if a girl from Kenya scores 710 in her GMAT, she can easily get admission in 6-7 leading institutes of the US along with full fee waiver because only a few candidates with such a score seek admission from the African subcontinent. She would naturally choose those universities over any Indian institute.
Among all the business schools of India, ISB has the highest success rate by having admitted 14 foreign students in its postgraduate programme class of 2020. Regardless, there is a long way to go as India is still not seen as a destination for management studies by international students.
The IITs are carrying out many initiatives to admit more international students but the foreign strength they receive mostly comprises of students who come for a short stint via exchange programmes.
The unavailability of work permit for foreign students in India is another factor as to why they do not seek admission in the institutes of the country. Many students do not put much thought in migrating to India for higher studies because they do not have examples of their seniors or anyone who has done so before them.
Also Read: IIM Calcutta Collaborates with 2 Foreign Universities
Swati Patankar, the Dean of International Relations, said that India can become an attractive destination for foreign students to pursue their higher education from if the institutes improve their academic reputations, improve infrastructure, do more high-quality research, and have job placements of the best quality in India as well as abroad.
