India needs to focus on education, not just to ensure better employability, but also to create a vibrant revenue-earning stream for the country. Many of the leading countries’ emphasis on education has resulted in numerous foreign students making a beeline to their institutions abroad. In the USA, of the one million foreign students, nearly 30 per cent are Indians.
If the Indian education system were on par with – or even close to – overseas, the need for students to go abroad would gradually diminish. As of now, India’s current forex earnings from this sector are quite low – under $250 million in 2024. In the USA, foreign students’ contribution was around $42 billion. Australia, which counts education as one of its largest revenue generators, earned A$51 billion from foreign students. In the UK, the amount is estimated at £44 billion for 2024.
Besides earnings, the other benefits of hosting foreign students are well known. They bring newer ways of thinking, besides generating a multitude of jobs – be they in teaching, management, maintenance, or facilitating the building of an entire community around the education system. Higher studies also enable better transmission of knowledge and information sourced globally. Many education centres do engage foreign teaching staff for this purpose.
Cluster planning of schools, colleges, or higher technical institutes housed in one town can easily grow into an education hub of choice – along the lines of Cambridge and Oxford. Pune used to be regarded as one of the major centres of learning, but somehow it has not lived up to its potential. Having a few IITs and IIMs is not enough. We need to have many more.
There are undoubtedly a lot of challenges in building education centres of the calibre seen abroad. Attracting dedicated faculty members and paying them global-level salaries is just one of them. Improving the quality of education imparted in public schools is another challenge – as is facilitating student loans for pursuing higher studies within India.
It is not as if the government is unaware of the quality concerns in Indian education – perhaps that is why most politicians and officials have their sons' and daughters' study overseas! The government however, had drawn up the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to address structural issues in the sector, with the dual aim of educating domestic students and inspiring international students to come to India. The aim of the policy is to develop multidisciplinary skill sets in students from the early stages: preschool through to higher education. The 2025–26 budget has allocated R500 crore for AI-driven education solutions.
Centres of Excellence focused on AI and robotics have been launched in a bid to adopt the latest technology, including courses in Industry 4.0, IoT, mechanics, drones, and more. There are also plans for collaborations in areas such as advanced materials, biotechnology, and energy.
More than 20 lakh students are expected to be direct beneficiaries of the PM SHRI (School for Rising India) scheme. The scheme is proposed to be implemented over 5 years from 2022–23 to 2026–27. These schools aim to develop holistic students equipped with 21st-century skills.
As education has been a concurrent subject (since 1976), both the states and the Centre are equally responsible for its development. The focus of these new-age schools will be on developing students’ quantitative, verbal, and logical reasoning skills. While the idea of such schools is laudable, the numbers need to grow exponentially, backed by adequate funding from both the Centre and the states.
What is also required is a shift in mindset. Curricula in most schools and colleges are geared solely towards employment or placement. In global institutions, that is not the only aim. The goal is to enable students to think independently and open up their minds.
While it is essential that the majority of initiatives result in gainful employment and future preparedness, we also need institutions that allow students to pursue research and explore their true interests. India has some of the best minds in the world, and we must allow the best of them to pursue their passions – be it space technology, robotics, or pure sciences like physics, mathematics, and chemistry.
We cannot continue to live in the past, citing names like Vikram Sarabhai, CV Raman, Homi Bhabha, S Bose, and APJ Abdul Kalam. Unless students have the economic freedom to pursue their dreams without worrying about where the next meal is coming from, we will not be able to emulate such legends.
It will be our scientists, mathematicians, and physicists who bring fame to institutions – and who inspire generations of students to follow.