US as Pied Piper

This trend highlights the obvious: for Asian students, the US continues to be the most attractive destination for higher education. A total of 583,000 foreign students — including 67,000 Indian students — enrolled in educational institutions last year. The events of 9/11 do not seem to have had a significant impact on the movement of students to and from the US, except for the reduction in numbers from Muslim countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Indonesia, where the new visa restrictions and concerns of personal security appear to have impacted negatively.

Foreign students mostly sought enrolment in courses on business management (20 per cent), engineering (15 per cent), with enrolment in computer sciences growing rapidly.

There may be a tendency in some quarters to perceive this flow of students to the US as brain drain and capital flight from the country. As it is, a large proportion of students from premier institutions like the IITs go abroad for higher learning and employment.

But, in real terms, this increased movement is something to be welcomed. Such opportunities open up avenues for broadening the horizons and strengthening our understanding of the world. In these globalising times, cross fertilisation of education is a crucial factor in building future capabilities.

As the number of Indian students abroad increases, so do the returning numbers to enrich society and the economy at home. At the same time, we must be able to attract more foreign students to our colleges and universities, especially from the US and Europe, in order to maximise the advantages of this great global educational exchange.