Can we halt the brain and forex drain?

India loses considerable foreign exchange over students heading for studies abroad, especially the US, and when they fail to return to the home country after their studies, we also lose out on the benefit of their learning. True, students head out attracted by better universities and facilities, but, there was a time when we had renowned centres of higher learning, long before any such places existed in the outside world. Is it time to bring back such citadels of higher learning and regain our lost glory once more?

There was a news item recently that during FY19-20, the United States of America earned $44 billion from foreign students studying on its soil. Indian students contributed $7.6 billion to this kitty. This sizable outflow from India to the US happened when the number of Indian students had declined by 4% compared to the previous year

Aspire to study abroad

Indian students go to as many as 86 countries for higher education, though the US remains the main destination, and along with it, there are ten other countries which attract Indian students the most. These include Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Ireland, China, Singapore and New Zealand.

India remains the second country after China, which sends the maximum number of students abroad. As per a report from the Ministry of External Affairs, the total number of Indian students living abroad in July 2018 was over 7,50,000, of which, over 200,000 students were in the US alone. We can make a rough estimate of the foreign exchange students leaving our shores from the global education sought by our students, based on the reported figure of the US share. The cost in each country is different, making the total approximation of the lost forex across countries difficult. There is no authentic report either, in this regard yet.

Is it good for us?

The issue of foreign education is important and the same requires introspection. Many questions crop up, such as, whether it is good for a developing country like ours to spend such a huge sum on education abroad? Is this not an important resource lost when a sizeable proportion of students going abroad do not come back? What advantage does the country get by the foreign education of our students? Can the country not have its own high-quality education centres here instead?

However, aspiring to get a higher education is the fundamental right of every citizen. This is truer for a democratic country like ours. The country has to play the role of facilitator when a student decides to go abroad for higher education. We have to accept that we do not have high-quality educational institutes, as none of our institutes figures in the list of the first 100 of the world. Our students do not lack merit. After studying abroad, they have managed to reach the top in bluechip companies the world over.

'During FY2019- 2020, the United States of America earned $44 billion from foreign students studying on its soil. Indian students contributed $7.6 billion to this kitty'

Quite a drain

Higher education in India is subsidised. There is more cost involved in education at premier institutions like IITs, IIMs or in any central or state universities than being recovered from students. Even private universities have to fall in line with the dictates of the government regarding collectable fees from students. Unlike universities in the US and Europe, our universities do not generate other income from their association with trade bodies and industries. Also, there is a shortage of philanthropic donations and big contributions from alumni like in the case of Ivy League universities in the US, and Oxford and Cambridge. Subsidy for higher education goes from the much-constrained kitty of tax money.

A country will always wish that it gets back its taxpayers' money spent on students. The objective of the return of funding can very easily be achieved if the students working outside the country contributed to the GDP of the country. But, when brilliant students from our best institutes spend more on studies abroad and settle down outside India, there is an automatic loss of both subsidy and foreign exchange remittance, with no scope of giving back to the national kitty. Thus there is an aggregated loss each year for a developing country like ours.

The indirect benefit to the country is that these students-turned NRIs play the role of our deemed ambassadors in different countries of the world. In pure money terms, some of them send remittances back home for looking after their close relatives or for investing a part of their income in their mother country and thus to some extent there is a financial gain to the country.

Not enough of our own

Advantages and disadvantages aside, the main reason for our students going abroad for higher education is that we do not have quality education centres matching those in the developed countries. Some students also go to other less developed countries to get admission in the desired courses which do not exist, or they are unable to get admitted into, in India. For example, many students go abroad for medical studies, as medical seats in India are very few compared to the number of aspiring students.

Today, the most sought after destination is the US, but the same was not the situation earlier. Europe and particularly, Oxford and Cambridge in Britain were more attractive then. There was a time when India had some of the best academic centres in the world, and at that time the US and Europe were nowhere. The flow of students is determined by the existence of attractive quality education centres and also where admission seekers get the courses of their choice.

'Many questions crop up, like whether it is good for a developing country like ours to spend such a huge sum on education abroad? Is this not an important resource lost when a sizeable proportion of students going abroad do not come back? What advantage does the country get by the foreign education of our students? Can the country not have its own high-quality education centres here instead?'

Historically speaking

Prior to the 17th century, there was nothing in the name of higher education in the US. The oldest institution in the USA is Harvard, which was established in 1636. Initially, the main objective of Harvard was to educate the clergy. It started enlarging itself in the 18th century and achieved its position as a reputed American university in the 19th century when it opened its law school. Harvard reached its peak in the 20th century after starting its business school in 1908. Another famous US university, Stanford, was established in 1885. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is another world-famous university in the US, founded in 1861. Ivy League Princeton University (New Jersey) was founded in 1746, and then others followed later.

In a nutshell, the greatest destination of students today had nothing to offer before the 18th century. Europe has an older history than the US for premier universities and institutions. The oldest continuing university is the University of Bologna (Italy), which was founded in the year 1088. The world-famous Oxford University in Britain is the second oldest, founded in 1096. Cambridge University, which is again world-famous was founded in 1209 in Britain. Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland) is an another well-known University of Europe, founded in 1592.

Students seeking higher education are like honey bees and they flock to those gardens where the flowers are blooming. Today it is the US or some other developed country, but there was a time in the past when India was in bloom. We have historical records of world-famous universities in India where students from almost the whole of Asia took admission. Taxila (or Takshashila) University (600 BC - 500 AD), Nalanda University (425 AD - 1205 AD), Vikramshila (800 AD - 1203 AD), Vallabbhai University (600 AD - 1200 AD) are some of the big names.

'The main reason for our students going abroad for a higher education is that we do not have quality education centres matching those in the developed countries. Some students also go to other less developed countries to get admission in the desired courses which do not exist, or they are unable to get admitted into, in India'

Our own gems

These universities were very modern in the course curriculum. From philosophy to political science, from theology to science and medical studies, a variety of courses were being taught. One of the greatest economists, Kautilya, was a student of Taxila. These universities produced mathematicians, astronomers, surgeons, grammarians whom we are proud of. We lost most of these universities due to the passage of time and also due to wilful destruction by foreign invaders. We can feel proud that we had great universities when the world did not have any.

We have to get inspiration from our past and plan to recreate some good educational centres. We have to give better choices of courses for which our students are seeking admission abroad. We know that this is a time taking process as there is a constraint on resources. However, the government can begin by inviting premier global universities and institutions to open campuses in our country. The government can be a facilitator and even private entrepreneurs and philanthropists can join the bandwagon. If we can open the global gate to 'Manufacture in India', then why not open the gates to 'Teach in India'?

Get FDI in learning

FDI in business is welcome, as it is the policy of the government, but FDI should be more than welcome in education, as it will shape the future of our youth. Benjamin Franklin said, "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest". Our Prime Minister has given a call for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. Policies have been outlined to push India in the global supply chain and to be vocal about being local. Education and our own quality education centres can play a major role in creating a self-sufficient India. We can loudly cheer our own educational hubs. Students will think twice before going to distant land when there is a Harvard campus at our own doorstep. Corona is evil, but we can transform the challenge thrown by corona and convert it to an opportunity. Today, the best destination of higher education, the USA, is hit by corona. Parents are worried about sending their children away to the US. We can have the best of both the worlds if international campuses have their presence on our soil. We can simultaneously increase our 'Gross Mind Power' as well as 'Gross Domestic Product'