Comments on: Hoping for an Oxford degree in India

By: Bikash

Bikash — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:42:44 +0000

Even if you pass the bill, and have the phorein institution in India. The cost for the education still will remain a distant dream for the many and many Indians. The debate is not for a FORIEGN DEGREE but education and how to educate.

By: VR

VR — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:07:46 +0000

Education is not a zero sum game, where you talk about ‘cash outflow from India’ for the education, and a reduced “inflow” of returning students. There is an outflow since the existing local ‘players’ do not deliver the same ‘value’ or ‘service’ in all respects – infrastructure, quality of teaching, openness as the foreign universities. There is a lot to be learned from the western education system and I think the intelligent western educated India student know exactly the best of both! He has studied in a rote system and know exactly what is good and bad. Just like the other industries India has excelled in, let the best in first whoever they are! and then the best local talent will match up one day. Do not be afraid of competition, openness is the need of the day.

By: Salauddeen

Salauddeen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:16:33 +0000

There are too many British universities offering worthless bits of paper which has totally destroyed the value of degrees/diplomas.Hence the high rate of unemployment amongst recent graduates in Britain.Does India want to go down this route?

By: GKL

GKL — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:08:53 +0000

In the US, education has become big business. As a result, the promise of higher pay with a higher degree has faded. (See the Forbes article, “The Tyranny of the Diploma” http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/1228/6 214104a.html). Most colleges and universities in the US operate as non-profits…yet they are run as big business hiding behind the rules of non-profit.It seems the foreign universities may be more driven by the market potential of India’s masses rather than the goal of higher education.India would be wise to hold foreign schools to meet or exceed educational requirements with curricula relevant to India’s social needs and goals. They should require a diverse student body to protect against educational elitism. Consider a partnerships requirement with existing Indian institutions as a way to upgrade the Indian education system. Another idea to consider is requiring a percentage of earnings be reinvested in Indian education. The sound approach would be one of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Government regulation should following the “Goldilocks” rule of not too much, not too little, but “just right”.My teaching experiences in the US and Asia (S. Korea, Japan, Philippines, P.R. China, Thailand) found many students going abroad to study in the West. They return with a Western education and wholly import Western culture and force fit it to their native land. It seemed so inappropriate to import and use Western psychological tests in Asia without adaptation or modification.Education, (from the Latin, “ex” and “ducere”, to lead out) tends to be more of a “pouring in” with professors as fountains of knowledge and students as empty vessels to be filled. Education can be an enlightening process with professors and students learning from each other. In the case of foreign universities, the cross cultural opportunity can be potentially awesome. Or it can be one of cultural imperialism where the prestige of a foreign university so dominates the scene that it becomes a pattern of one-way streets: foreign education flowing in, Indian cash flowing out.A key advantage for having foreign universities in India is to give Indian firms the opportunity to be first in line to recruit and hirer graduates. When studying overseas, graduates are often approached by foreign firms first. This means that there was cash outflow from India for the education, and a reduced “inflow” of returning students resulting in a greater loss for India’s intellectual resources.

By: rajiv n shah

rajiv n shah — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:29:54 +0000

excellent if it really goes thru.will create great opportunities to Indian middle class but brilliant students.

By: VIP

VIP — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:36:48 +0000

“Meritocracy Ayatollahs” should know that Harvard fills 40% of its intake through affirmative action(different from reservation but principle remains the same).President Bok,the longest serving president,has written about the benefits for not only the students-both the recipients and non recipients of this measure but also about improved standards which diversification brings to the world of academia.

By: ONP

ONP — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:23:31 +0000

I think the last point needs to be taken care off most, that is the scariest part of future of education in India..

By: Alif Uppal

Alif Uppal — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:32:57 +0000

Very positive welcome development.Too much regulation will kill the inititative and any interest foreign universities may have.For the benefit and genuine interest of the society, the regaultory body should be a non government one – composed of prominent academicians, NRIs, entrepreneurs, and social activists – that will provide a good balance of socially responsible governance minus the ‘BABU RAJ’.Second, the government should not be charging steep taxes to foreign institutions as that will increase the cost and make it prohibitively expensive for the common man to afford education in these foreign universities located in India.