Students from around 30 countries are pursuing higher education in India, which has the second largest higher education facilities in the world and one of the most sought for.
They include over 310 universities consisting of 52 Deemed Universities, 162 traditional universities, 40 agricultural/forestry/fisheries/veterinary universities, 36 engineering and technology institutes, 18 medical universities,11 open universities and 18 national institutes.
In addition, there are 15,500 colleges of engineering, medical, arts, humanities, social sciences, commerce, science and management education.
Indian universities and institutes of higher education and research have made a significant contribution in research and development in the areas ranging from biotechnology to ocean engineering as well as in the arts and humanities, pure sciences, applied physics, chemistry and mathematics.
The country has also been active in the development of space technology, production and launching of indigenous satellites and exploitation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Besides, India is also recognized the world over for its expertise in information technology.
Not surprisingly, as many as 200 of the Fortune 500 companies regularly participate in campus placements in Indian institutions. The medium of instruction is a crucial factor in determining the quality of the curricular program and the level of achievement.
Every Indian university has English as the medium of instruction and most Indian universities consider a sound knowledge of English a prerequisite for pursuing higher education.
For the humanities, social sciences and commerce courses, the medium of instruction is both English and regional languages but in case of professional courses, science and technical subjects, English is exclusively used for teaching purposes. Postgraduate education is taught in English in most of the educational institutes.
For international students who are weak in English, most colleges and universities conduct special English language and communication courses.
India has the third largest English-speaking population in the world.
Accordingly, it is a place where foreign nationals feel at home. The quality of Indian education is comparable to the best available anywhere in the world, while the costs are moderate and affordable.
The table (inset) provides a comparative matrix of education and living costs in India vis-a-vis Australia-US-UK.
Quality is the benchmark for development of infrastructure, curriculum, human resources, research and the establishment of centers of excellence, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional centers.
The National Policy on Education was adopted in the early 1980s to ensure the formulation of standardized guidelines for the enforcement of quality control in higher education.
It is mandatory for all the Indian institutions to be recognized by the appropriate national level statutory bodies established by the government of India for compliance with quality standards.
Some of the statutory bodies which have been constituted for recognition are:
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE); University Grants Commission (UGC); Medical Council of India (MCI); Dental Council of India (DCI); Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Besides, quality of education is assured through the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) for technical education and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for higher education.
The Indian education system promotes a 10+2+3 structure of curriculum. The national standards of uniform curriculum are comparable to international standards.
To ensure uniformity of curriculum, the National Policy on Education (1986) stressed the importance of basic parameters of equity and excellence.
The National Policy on Education — 1986 has stipulated the role of a teacher, which includes instruction, curriculum development, instructional material development, research and innovation and testing and consultancy services.
As part of an initiative to bridge the gap between syllabus development and education delivery, the policy envisages the involvement of teachers in developing the courseware.
Optimum infrastructure in terms of research labs, equipment and lecture theaters are an important aspect of the educational program.
The universities and colleges are given adequate grants and funds every year to ensure that they are able to constantly maintain and upgrade their infrastructure.
An important element of the educational philosophy in India and the developed world is that there should be interaction between an educational institution and industry at every level.
To this end, the Board Of Industry-Institute-Interaction (BOII) set up the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to promote industry-institute partnership, organize seminars and workshop and sponsor postgraduate courses, among other initiatives.
To give a more practical perspective to the classroom training, workshops and seminars have been integrated with the curriculums of a number of professional courses.
These workshops ensure that the students get an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and get a hands-on experience.
India has a large number of international students coming from all parts of the world to pursue their chosen careers in Indian institutions.
They come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Syria, Thailand, UK, US, Vietnam and Zimbabwe etc for higher studies.
To make their stay in India a rewarding experience, college festivals and sports meets are held on Indian campuses for the overall development of students, including those from abroad.
Many colleges conduct orientation programs with a view to assisting international scholars to adjust to their new surroundings.
Pursuit of higher education in India is thus a unique experience heightened in part by the country’s rich cultural heritage and multireligious character of the society.
