EDUCATION IN INDIA AND ABROAD

INTRODUCTION Education is the key foundation for the success of any country and the betterment of any individual. However, given the culture and mindset of different races, there is a different approach towards education. And to be more precise, there is a difference between the approach towards education in the western countries and in India. Apparently, the fundamental is that there is a chalk and cheese difference in the objective of education in both sides.

Apparently, the foreign students treat education more like a learning process. On the other hand, they choose the line they are interested in and go only for that course and line of career. In this process, they tend to wait for the right kind of job and don't really consider time as a hindrance. On the other hand, the objective of education in India has more to do with a fat salaried job, overseas chances, better marriage prospects, status in society etc.

However, analysts on both sides say there is a lot of difference in terms of competition, aptitude and the job markets in both hemispheres. While things are rather relaxed owing to the lesser population, more streamlined procedure and lack of unfair means, things are quite different when it comes to India. As such, money becomes the root cause since most of the higher end courses are taken on study loan. So, it is more about circumstances than choices for many students.

However, to those who manage to get admission in the foreign schools, once adaptability is achieved, the path is set and clear. Also, given the infrastructure, access to various resources and other facilities, the quality tends to be higher in terms of conducive learning. Though changes are being noticed in India with top league B-Schools focusing on quality and better infrastructure, there is still that gap between foreign schools and Indian educational institutions. With globalisation happening rapidly and economies getting tighter in developed countries, changes are being noticed so let us see how things take shape

HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA The higher education system in India has grown in a remarkable way, particularly in the postindependence period, to become one of the largest system of its kind in the world. However, the system has many issues of concern at present, like financing and management including access, equity and relevance, reorientation of programmes by laying emphasis on health consciousness, values and ethics and quality of higher education together with the assessment of institutions and their accreditation. These issues are important for the country, as it is now engaged in the use of higher education as a powerful tool to build a knowledge-based information society of the 21st Century. India's higher education system is the third largest in the world, after China and the United States. The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 12 autonomous institutions established by the University Grants Commission. As of 2009, India has 20 central universities, 215 state universities, 100 deemed universities, 5 institutions established and functioning under the State Act, and 13 institutes which are of national importance. Other institutions include 16000 colleges, including 1800 exclusive women's colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions. The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies on science and technology. Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of a large number of technology institutes. Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher education system. Some institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), National Institute of Technology (NITs) and Jawaharlal Nehru University have been globally acclaimed for their standard of education. The IITs enroll about 8000 students annually and the alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the public sectors of India. However, India has failed to produce world class universities like Harvard or Oxford.

Besides top rated universities which provide highly competitive world class education to their pupil, India is also home to many universities which have been founded with the sole objective of making easy money. Regulatory authorities like UGC and AICTE have been trying very hard to extirpate the menace of private universities which are running courses without any affiliation or recognition. Students from rural and semi urban background often fall prey to these institutes and colleges. Three Indian universities were listed in the Times Higher Education list of the worlds top 200 universities Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2005 and 2006. Six Indian Institutes of Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology and Science - Pilani were listed among the top 20 science and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek. The Indian School of Business situated in Hyderabad was ranked number 12 in global MBA rankings by the Financial Times of London in 2010[12] while the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in medical research and treatment ADVANTAGES OF INDIAN EDUCATION Now in the era of reverse brain drain, the IIT graduates increasingly prefer to return or remain in the country. It is stated by some that Bangalore today has 150,000 software engineers compared to 130,000 in Silicon Valley. According to Computerwise, the top 50 global IT service firms alone target raising Indias headcount from 173,000 to 500,000

According to NASSCOM, India had a total of 1,300,000 IT professionals in 2010 and by February 2015, they were to rise to 2,500,500. According to Brainbench Inc., India ranked behind the US in the number of certified software professionals (145,517 against 194,211) The Indian figure was 30 times larger than Europes top country Germany (4802) and one hundred times Chinas (1325). India, therefore, does have an overwhelming lead in software. Further, leading US IT firms have their CMM Level 5 certification in India, rather than in the US. The High Technology leadership of the US is now coming under threat from India. In a paper published by Richard Freeman of Harvard University quoted by Sheshabalaya, the employment at General Electric Companys Global Research Headquarters in New York is being surpassed

by their own facility, the Welch Centre at Bangalore. Similarly, IBM cut its jobs in the US and Europe but recruited more in India. In another surprise move, in just 2 years, the Indian R&D Centres of Bell Laboratories, the worlds largest research organization, filed more patents than the US Labs. In August 2006, India announced 1312 applications for drug patents, a record second only to the US. It is 25 per cent higher than Germany which is the third in ranking, and ahead of Britain, Japan, etc.

India, is therefore, not just at the lower end of the software and research business, but is now in a leading position of the scientific and financial research revolution. This is also confirmed by the massive market value of IT firms on US stock markets which indicate that the investment community endorses this view. According to current thinking an estimated $356 billion worth of global financial services will relocate to India in the next 5 years, producing a cost saving of $ 130 billion for top 100 financial service firms.

From R&D and scientific research, Indian commercial research market has further widened to financial and economic research. It has been said that Wall Street is also outsourcing white-collar jobs to India as a reaction to the local scandals, which erupted in 2008 and 2009. Already McKinsey & Co. and AT Kearney Inc., have shifted bulk of their research to India. J.P.Morgan, Moran Stanley, Deutsche Bank, etc. are all considering the same.

In the health sector, the story is the same. According to McKinsey & Cos forecast, India will earn $2 billion a year by 2012 from healthcare tourism. Peter Dracher has noted that the Indian medical schools in New Delhi are the best in the world. Indian hospitals already treat over 150,000 foreign patients a year and India is emerging as one of the most sought after medical destinations in Asia for offshore patients. The 30 hospitals under the Apollo Group are believed to have over the period treated 60,000 foreigners. Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre has a large number of foreigners coming in every year looking for high quality cardiac care. The cost of treatment and surgery is 25 per cent that of the UK.

In more fundamental research, Mosanto has set up a massive R&D facility within the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Indian biotech firm, Shanta Biotechnics stunned the scientific

community with r-DNA based hepatitis vaccine. Work on genetically modified food is going on full swing in India. Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), based in New Delhi, has discovered these new genes of SARS virus.

The biggest company in the world GE has announced that their R&D centre at Bangalore will take up 30 projects underway in the US. This is their biggest facility outside the US where 1800 engineers with a quarter of them holding PhD degrees are engaged in fundamental research. Oracle, the famous software company has 70000 employees in India, mostly engineers (Business World, 21 November 2010).

India is, therefore, fast moving up the value chain in all aspects of scientific and financial research from software to medical to biomedics. There are already more software experts in Bangalore than in the Silicon Valley. As Business Week ('The other MIT' 22-29August, 2010) has concluded, unlike China, Indias significant cheap labour is not a pool of factory workers, but a huge crop of scientists. In the same view, Singapore Prime Minister has reportedly stated that while China has become the worlds factory floor, India has become its IT and back office! However, China is very keen to seek a piece of the IT pie. At 2009 China IT Service Summit, an international event organized by International Executive Association in New York, attended by 100 persons representing leading companies, it was clear that China lags behind India in the global market for IT. According to analysts the worlds outsourcing business is currently about US$ 20 billion and India holds about 90% of it while China earns only $ 600 million. But this should not lead to complacency.

Sixty two years after independence, India is again at crossroads. We still have a large population under the poverty line. We have a very large number of illiterates. 19 School education, both primary and secondary are inadequate considering the entire population. The dichotomy lies in the fact that we also have the largest pool of scientific and knowledge workers. We produce 400,000 engineers a year compared to around 60,000 in USA (Business Today, 4 December 2009). We have had great success in entering the service sector through new communication technology for not only low-end backroom service work, but also top end R&D. We should not

allow the present advantage to slip away. Our unique selling point is the pool of skilled manpower, which we need to continue to grow to maintain our competitive edge. Further, Bangalore may have come up as a rival to Silicon Valley, but it is congested and wages and attrition rates are rising. We need to develop another twenty Bangalores in locations, which are cheaper. We can only do this when our supply of skilled manpower continues to grow, keeping wages stable and moving more and more Indians into the mainstream of economic growth.

EDUCATION ABROAD Studying abroad helps us understand what we really are and what we are made of. By immersing our self in a different deep rooted culture we learn to adapt to a new environment, become more intuitive, resourceful and more tolerant. It will help us prepare our life to face the real world, juggle the hectic career life and family as an independent and self sufficient individual. We will be surprised to find the new challenges we have to face in our everyday situations. Not only do we have to learn news ways of operating things but we also have a language barrier to overcome. This will bring about a positive change in our lives. REASONS WHY STUDENTS PREFER TO STUDY ABROAD Why Study Abroad? Today more & more students are opting to do their future studies from Developed Countries like USA, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and European Countries. Apart from these popular destinations there are other Asian Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Thailand, which are becoming known for the quality of the Education provided. Main reasons for Studying Abroad: Indian Education is one of the most respected Education System in the world known for its world class graduates. But the fact that India has an ever increasing population has made it difficult for School graduates to find the choice of their courses at preferred Institutes due to limited seats available for admission with available infrastructure facilities.

On the other hand all the Colleges are not able to provide that quality training to enable graduates to face todays corporate world with the right applied knowledge and skills. The ones that do provide have tough entry requirements and stiff competition, deprive those who have an average aptitude and enthusiasm to pursue further education. Some other reasons why Students are moving abroad for education in India to abroad are listed below. Let us see a few practical reasons. 1. In India, students have very much protected and supportive environment from their parents until the time they are studying and gaining employment. Whereas in abroad students have a sense of independence and discretion to take their own decisions from very young age i.e. teenage. 2. In India, students start to earn only after completing their higher studies and learn the practical skills required in a job very late due to which it gets tough for them to perform well. Whereas in abroad students are encouraged to work and earn so that they become independent so they get to learn the practical job skills very early. 3. In India, there is a lot of emphasis on theory, as this is a part of their higher studies as well as school curriculum. However, in abroad the qualification emphasizes more on practical and applied knowledge rather than only theory. 4. Indian qualifications are still low profile in terms of global recognition and have low reputation globally. Whereas in abroad the qualifications from these countries are well known for their quality and are highly reputed. 5. In India, staying with family with their bounds restricts students from socializing, meets people to gain knowledge about various cultures which is required for students confidence, and improves their personality. Whereas in abroad students get an opportunity to get to know people from various societies and countries that help to improve interpersonal skills. 6. Indian graduates face great difficulty in getting professional employment due to lack of employable skills. Whereas once you get graduation in abroad you have great chances of being employed throughout the world with your practical knowledge and skills. 7. In India the learning is basically develop only on academic knowledge of the students

whereas in abroad learning develops on overall skills like academic and practical job skills

PLACES WHERE INDIAN STUDENTS WISH TO STUDY These are three top location in the world where students generally prefer to go and study like USA, UK, Australia. In addition, many other locations are there where students are moving for studies. Many advantages prevail for Indian students to perceive the studies in foreign institutions. ADVANTAGES OF STUDYING ABROAD
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One can experience various cultures of the world and gain global perspective. You can increase your social contacts globally. Improve personality and communication skills. Develop independence. Learn new things and explore different concepts and ideas. Become a global citizen and experience different quality of life.

THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED BEFORE GOING ABROAD When you go abroad there also you will find institutes which has very good reputation and also with no reputation. You need to find out whether the institute you are joining is of good standard or not. You need to do some research yourself before taking this decision In which field are you going to study? Do we have good institutes in India for this stream? Which foreign Institute you are planning to enroll yourself? Is this institute better than the Indian counterpart? Compare the fee structure and placement record for both the Indian and Foreign Institute. Is your investment worth it?

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STUDYING IN INDIA AND ABROAD?

IN INDIA Protected and Supportive Environment Children have protected and supportive environment from parents till the time of completing graduation and gaining employment Employment on Completion Children get to start earning on gaining employment on completion of studies and

IN ABROAD Confident and Independent Children have a higher level of freedom and discretion to decide from an early age. So they learn quickly to be confident and independent Independent Thinking Children are encouraged to work on their own and have independent thinking and

learn the applied job oriented skills quiet late learn practical applied job oriented skills very early Emphasis on Theoretical Skills The qualifications emphasis on the theoretical aspects of knowledge Low Profile Indian qualifications are still low profile in terms of global recognition and reputation Emphasis on Practical Skills The qualifications emphasis on the Practical and applied skills Global Recognition Qualifications from these Countries are well known for their quality and highly reputed and globally recognized Lack of Opportunity to Socialize Being close to the family do not give an opportunity to socialize and get to meet different people and culture Opportunity to Socialize Gives a lot of opportunity to get to know people from different Multicultural societies and Countries that helps to improve interpersonal people handling skills and communication skills

Lack of Employable Skills Fresh graduates find difficulty in getting a professional employment due to lack of employable skills Learning based on Academic Knowledge Learning in India basically develops only the academic knowledge of the Child

Gain of Practical Knowledge Qualifications have high employability throughout the world with the practical knowledge and employable skills Learning based on Practical Knowledge Learning abroad Children develop overall skills like academic, practical job skills and independent thought and learn to respect the Services available

CONCLUSION Both the Education system in India and abroad are discussed and I conclude with studying in India as the best since the system is centralized and which leads to be successful for an individual. Though the education abroad provides job while studying but itll help only for a certain period and it only increases the economic stability of a country and not an individual. The culture and the method adopted by India is best suited and Indian education system only has made many individuals as a top rated in Research and Development all over the globe.