Sep 06, 2003 03:07 AM
45643 Views
(Updated Sep 06, 2003 03:24 AM)
The most important thing is what do you want with that degree or do you really care about the knowledge.
Study in India
India can boast to have some of the best institutes in the world. We have also the best teachers (recent surveys show US wants 700000 teachers from India). But such good quality education is not for everyone. To get to a good institute in India the students and their parents have to go through a lot of running around and at times spend heaps of money. But there are advantages to staying and studying in India.
Advantages of studying in India
Home ground advantage is important where you understand the system and know how to manipulate it. The family and friends are available when needed. Food is an issue for some and in India one can easily look after this aspect if you are ready to spend. I have seen students going to other cities and the parents have sent a servant with them to cook and look after the student's needs. Studying in India is relatively cheaper. The general standard of education in good institutes is good but passing without some hardwork is not easy. Ask many foreign students who come to India from Malaysia, Indonesia and middle east who go back as they can not pass the exams. India is also emerging as a destination for indians that live and work overseas (as NRIs students) specially at school level.
Disadvantages of studying in India
Entry is very difficult to a good institute even if one has good marks, due to competition and nepotism. The system is examination oriented and every thing is based on final examination. This has further good and bad points, but that is how Indian universities work. Libraries are poorly maintained and it is often difficult to get the books. Overseas accreditation is poor and further study if required becomes difficult and one has to do exams to qualify to enter a good institute overseas. The horizons remain limited and the focus is to please the teachers. Study is not oriented to real life and very theory based. I am not talking about IT education here. At the Indian examination systems like to find what a student does not know!! Ofcourse there is gender, regional and other biases a student has to overcome in India. It can be frustrating to see how the bias can change the fortunes of some deserving students, but that is life.
Study Overseas
Many overseas universities now boast of second highest number of students from India after china. There are many reasons for Indian students to go overseas. Do you have the initial deposit or not has a lot to do with this in many cases. Many have other agendas. Some come to earn money and send back home!!!. Pakistani students are far ahead of Indian students in this enterprunership. Others just enjoy life and do not go to their classes at all. But a majority want just a foreign degree because it sells well in India. Advantages of studying Overseas Most students who will struggle in India to pass a course can also dream of a degree from an overseas university. That is the state of many foreign universities. They are only interested in the money a student can pay. Some students stay back or use the opportunity to migrate to the country where they study. A student can work and earn money to pay for the education and in a way it makes them less dependent on their parent’s support from India. While doing so they tend to discipline themselves as they know the stakes are high and if they do not work and do not study, the purpose is lost. That is one of the reasons for Indian students doing so well overseas.
Disadvantages of studying overseas
It is not necessary that one will gain knowledge while studying overseas. It is also quite expensive to study overseas. Many students are forced to work long hours and their learning suffers. Some students I know drive taxi for 12 hours a day and then attend classes. Many tend to do a number of subjects in a semester that puts burden on them and the learning is poor. But such students also pass the subject, because the universities are only interested in the money the student is paying. The teaching in many universities is very ordinary as compared to India and a lot depends on the student himself. If a student is doing too many subjects and working long hours it is imaginable the standard of learning is going to suffer.
So what will going overseas do - never mind the studying only?
Who goes overseas to study? There are two categories. One where the student is an underperformer and can not get into a good uni in India. Lucky that he has caring parents who can afford the spending for this. Some parents arrange the initial investment with suffering to the rest of the family and rest is managed by the student himself by working hard. Such students can come back with a degree that sells in India. Some go overseas to use it as an opportunity to migrate. But all of them learn the value of money and get educated in life management and self-reliance. After working and living overseas as students their eyes open and they see many aspects of life and this is an eduction in itself.
What should the employers in India do with a foreign trained or educated person?
I think the time has come for the Indian system to test the credentials of those degrees. One can not just accept the foreign degree as a better option. I can assure you some have not been to the university as much as it is required. Many have done overseas qualifications in a fast track lane where learning has taken the back seat.
Still there is no harm if you have the money to start and have a foreign experience, provided you know what do you want from it.
