Facts about Indian students abroad:
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India has a history of students traveling abroad for higher education and major personalities who went abroad include Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Amartya Sen and Manmohan Singh.
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As estimated before the COVID pandemic, about 7,50,000 Indian students were studying abroad, spending around $24 billion in foreign economies, which accounts for 1% of India’s GDP.
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The number is said to increase to about 1.8 million by 2024 and students are likely to spend $80 billion.
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India is the second largest source of international students after China.
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The reasons for such a high number of students going abroad include the gap in India’s supply of quality education against the demand.
Benefits of having large number of Indian students abroad:
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Sushma Swaraj referred to Indians abroad as “brand ambassadors of India”.
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The Prime Ministers of India and UK called Indians in the U.K. as the “living bridge” between the countries.
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The large base of Indian students abroad have various benefits to India in the form of: (#Diagram)
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Soft power
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Knowledge transfer
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Transfer of Indian culture
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Remittances they send back to India
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Recent events that troubled Indian students abroad:
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Ukraine crisis endangering 18000 Indian Medical students.
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Around 2,000 students in Canada got affected as their colleges were abruptly closed.
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A few years ago many ‘bogus’ colleges in the U.K. shut down abruptly, impacting them.
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During the pandemic, Australia shut its borders to many Indian students who had enrolled to study in the country.
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Even in the U.K. people were seen stranded without access to food and accommodation as they lost their economic means.
What government should do?
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The Indian government must proactively build a safety net for international students.
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International arrangements that require host countries to ensure the welfare of students during a crisis should be given the highest priority.
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The trade and other agreements that India signs should also negotiate for the inclusion of safety of these students.
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A mandatory student insurance scheme be formulated to ensure the interests of the students.
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Students take expensive loans from institutional and non-institutional sources to finance their education and these institutions should be regulated.
Conclusion:
As India celebrates the achievements of Indians abroad, we should also take up the responsibility of safeguarding and ensuring their welfare.