Even as Panjab University dreams of earning global recognition,foreign faces are a rare sight on campus. As the number of foreign students forms a crucial parameter in ascertaining the position of a university on the chart of global varsities,the low turnout is a cause for concern. In the current academic session,only 130 foreign students are enrolled. This figure has,more or less,remained unchanged for the last three years. PU old-timers say the number used to run into thousands back in 1980s. The trend continues despite the meagre fees charged by the university. The enrollment fee for PhD is not more than Rs 1,100 while the registration fee is around Rs 800. In a recent Senate meeting,Professor Shelly Walia,Dean Foreign Students,said: I have not seen any other university charging peanuts from foreign students; the fee is unchanged for around 20 years now. That the authorities have no knowledge of this is most surprising. Why the low numbersAccording to PU officials,the reason for the handful of foreign students is the mandatory entrance test,which most fail. Only postgraduates,who want to pursue MPhil or PhD,are exempted from the test. For appearing in the exam,the students have to come to India on a tourist visa an expensive proposition which is converted to a students visa after admission. For certain courses like LLM,the entrance test contains questions related to the Hindu Marriage Act and the Constitution,which are beyond the purview of foreign aspirants. Other universities earn revenues running into crores from foreign students. The university needs to do away with its stringent admission norms for foreign students,otherwise its dream to be a globally acclaimed university will remain a distant one, said Professor Walia. Students speakNewsline spoke to a few foreign students and a common refrain was,besides the difficult admission process,the lack of facilities at PU. President of PU Foreign Students Association,Simin,a student from Iran who is pursuing her PhD in English,said: The faculty here is great and as such we face no problem at the university. But certainly,better hostel facilities and more flexible admission norms will help draw more foreign students to the university. Arif Al Ahdal from Yemen added: The admission procedure is really confusing and a student has to wait for around for two months to get the nod. Years Number of foreign students* 2008-09 -130* 2007-08 -122* 2006-07 - 124(approx figures)Main hurdles* Mandatory entrance exam* No independent hostel for foreign students* No cultural activities
