How India pushes its bright students abroad?

By Siddahrth Bhatia

In the mid-90s, the total number of Indian students studying in Australia was in the hundreds, probably even less than a thousand.

Australia was not on anyone's radar -- the first preference was the US, followed by the traditional destination Britain, which still retained its post-colonial cache. In any case Indians did not have the money to go abroad to study and if they somehow did, they chose to go for graduate studies, where scholarships were easier to come by.

The latest figure for Indians studying in Australia is estimated at slightly above 90,000 students. Australia is now the second choice of Indians after the US. Indians in fact prefer Australia for a host of reasons.

How did this happen? How did a remote country, with little or no old connection with India, with hardly any international reputation as a centre of education and manage to lure so many Indians to come there? And how has it managed to maintain a steady flow even though not all who go there have pleasant experiences during their stay?

Sometime in the 90s, the Australian universities under one banner launched a campaign in India (and in other countries, including China) to woo Indians. At the same time, scores of Indian agents were appointed by various educational institutions and promised incentives if they brought in Indian students; these agents fanned out not only to Mumbai and Delhi, but also to Chandigarh, Jaipur and Hyderabad, smaller towns where students had less opportunity to make it to the better colleges.

The Australians had a lot to offer -- cheaper education compared to the US, a fairly multicultural environment and a wide variety of courses, especially in non-traditional sectors like hotel management. In addition was the lure of allowing students to work for a limited number of hours every week. The biggest attraction was the possibility that the students could legally settle down in Australia.

Throw in a mix of sun, sand and a laidback lifestyle and it was a heady cocktail. I recall a British diplomat telling me once, "We were left standing at the gate by the Australians." The prestige of Britain was intact -- Oxbridge and all that -- but it was seen as too fuddy duddy, too rigid in its rules (work and migration) and too expensive by a ratio of three to one compared to Australia.

Once students reached Australia, however, things were not so hunky dory. Many of the institutions that wooed students were bucket shops, or at best minor institutions intent only on the money the international students brought in. The recent agitation by Indian students on racist attacks was perhaps an outburst of many old frustrations. In March 2006, international students at the Central Queensland University in Melbourne planned a strike as they felt they hadn't got the facilities they were promised. The university treated them like "cash cows," they said. There is anecdotal evidence of students feeling frustrated with the quality of education and with the difficulties in breaking into the Australian job market, apart from the cultural problems they encounter. But the financial commitment they have made, often by taking loans, and the promise of permanent residency keeps them going.

Why would thousands of students want to go to destinations like Australia, Canada and Singapore or indeed the US and UK for undergraduate studies? For an answer to that, pick up your nearest newspaper and see hundreds of youngsters queuing up for an application form.The HSC results have just been declared and Mumbai's colleges are in the process of declaring their "cut off" lists. These lists will open up seats for students in various streams and tell us a lot about what the Indian education system has become. The colleges (and not only the so-called prestigious ones) have no time for anyone who has not scored above 85 percent and even those will get admission only in courses that are not in demand. Degrees such as Bachelor of Media Management and a BSc in information technology are considered sexy; here the cut offs start at 90 percent plus.

The Indian system says if you have scored a 'mere' 84 per cent, it is the road to perdition. We all know that high marks in a particular set of exams are no way to judge the quality and potential of a student, but those are the rules, take them or leave them. Once you make it to a good college you can drift for three years, it doesn't matter; what matters is your marks in one high school exam which are your passport and visa for entry into those hallowed portals and brand you for the rest of your life.

Where does that leave the thousands of bright students who find all doors shut to them because the good colleges are so few and far between? What if someone wants to study, say fashion design and cannot get into NIFT? They can either join an indifferent institution at home or beg, borrow and steal funds and go abroad. Which is what they eventually do. Indian students collectively contribute over 2 billion dollars to Australia every year; many stay back, which is a gain for Australia and a big loss for India. The students know the price they pay, financially and otherwise. But they do it not out of choice but out of compulsion. Their own country has no place for them. If at the end of it, they have to face a bit of racism, so be it.