By: Sk Pathak
By chance and sometimes by design I happened to saunter into some university campuses with my friends and relatives on my foreign excursions. What struck me during these casual visits was the fairly large strength of non- native students and more pleasing was the fact that among these foreign students many were of Indian origin. I was intrigued to find out who these Indian students were. It is a known fact that the majority of the Indians who have taken residence in the developed countries are either engaged in trade or are employed in labour intensive low end service sector; and to imagine that such classes of people would solicit university education in a large number would have been somewhat far fetched.
Once when curiosity got better of me I approached one Indian group of about five students and learnt that they were fresh from India and had no prior connection with country they were studying in. All students in the group comprising three boys and two girls were in their late teens and were enrolled in different undergraduate courses – from BBA to theatre. Thoroughly content with the progression of their studies, they had adjusted well in alien environment and had unambiguous future plans too.
This brief encounter set me wondering as to how the education and career scenario had witnessed a sea change over the last decade or so. It was not much long ago when only the most brilliant and/or moneyed students used to patronise the elite foreign universities for post postgraduate research work in specialised fields. Then there was a trend to seek admission in MBA and M Tech courses in select universities. While onset of economic globalisation facilitated many young professionals, particularly in IT sector to hunt for employment in foreign countries, it also helped open the education system, the world over. It affected the new generation of Indian students as much as it did the same from other parts of the globe. Seeking admission at the undergraduate level in foreign universities is no more a rarity or novelty. Open economies and markets have thrown up job possibilities in such formal and informal sectors that were hitherto unheard of.
My recent experiences tell me that for the student community in India setting its eye on better quality of education in foreign universities just after Intermediate grade, is indeed putting the right foot forward.