‘A new disease’: Dhankhar on students going abroad to study

He said this was burdening the country, “They have created 6 billion US dollars hole in our foreign exchange. Imagine if these 6 billion US dollars are funnelled into improving the infrastructure of educational institutions here, what would have been our condition. A lot of attention is being paid to this. This is the loss of foreign exchange.”

“It is forex drain, it is brain drain, this should not happen. It is the responsibility of the institutions to make their students aware of the foreign conditions. Tell them, what is the ranking of the institution in which you are taking admission into, what is its status. And along with this, we should take a very big revolutionary step that whoever is capable, with the intention of giving to the society, based on that policy, with a clean mind, should build institutions in Tier 2 and 3 towns and in rural areas. This will be a big change for the country,” the V-P said.

“I see all around that what began as charitable work has now become commerce. Education becoming a business is not good for the future of the nation.” Stating that education was never a source of income but a medium of sacrifice and charity to build a healthy society, Dhankhar rued that today it has become a commodity which is being sold for profit, thus adversely impacting its quality.

“In some cases, it is even taking the shape of extortion. This is a matter of concern,” he said.

“While educational institutions should be financially sustainable, it is the responsibility of the industry to nurture them from time to time. Corporate houses should use their CSR funds liberally to build institutions and fund new courses. This will help the nation progress,” Dhankhar said.