Admission to foreign lands

The growth of interests by the students of India has increased since the last decade.  Last night, I read in an article of the Telegraph newspaper about the number of students’ accommodation in Indian and Chinese universities. In the 80’s and 90’s, the number students getting masters and PhD programs in India was more than the Chinese counterparts, but , this decade the Chinese have exceeded in quantity as well as quality. The quality is also a major criterion for the selection of universities by the students.  When we go through our Indian history, we came to know that there were universities like Vikramshila, Nalanda and Taxashila, where students from distant lands used to come and study various subjects. The then students used to prefer the type of preparations taken by the Indian universities. But now, students with the better profile prefer have a foreign degree in his or her pocket rather than getting admission in Indian universities. The alarming fact is they seldom come back to serve the nation. Although for the last few years, students after completing their courses are coming back to our country. It’s a relief, but at the end, we are lagging behind in quality and quantity of students going for further studies, specially Master of Science and doctorate in philosophy. I know many good students who have failed to succeed something good in our country, but, they are doing better outside. The reason for this is the monetary help and support they get from the universities. One of my friends’, with a rather average career, have succeeded to establish his own company by dint of shear knowledge and investment from the professors. They have also helped him to get a good pointer while passing out. In India, if you think you can beat up the heat of the ‘rat race’ and create something new and ‘out of the box’, then, think again. If we need to improve the quality masters and PhD programs in India, then we have to start it today onwards. We can start by learning from our Indian friends settled in foreign countries. They will definitely help us. Slowly, we can improve our quality. Besides, the foreign universities have huge lab facilities, which we lack. So, the only way to cope up with them is to increase the infrastructure of indigenous institutions. We can even increase the number of universities, if required, as done already by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) organizing committee last to last year. But the quality of education shouldn’t drop down at any cost. We should remember what great Swami Vivekananda had said “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.” So, perfection in the path of education is a must. I remember, in the days of my football practice in standard seven, our beloved Tapan da used to tell everyone about ‘perfect practice’ and not simply ‘practice’. Now I do understand how important the word ‘perfection’ is in the phrase. So, by the support and blessing of our elders, slowly and steadily, we can improve our education system in India.