Академичен диалог и кроскултурен ракурс
Academic dialogue and cross-cultural perspectives
Aigul Abdumutalipovna Abzhapparova
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan, Almaty
E-mail: aigul.abzhapparova@kaznu.kz
Abstract: The education system in most developed countries has undergone significant changes over the past three decades. In particular, there have been significant changes in the structure of the higher education system. After the financial crisis and subsequent structural reforms of the 1980s, most countries‘ policies were often aimed at reducing public spending, especially in social sectors such as education. This has led to a lack of funding for the education sector, necessitating the participation of the private sector in the education system. In the years that followed, the education sector became increasingly market-oriented, leading to the formation of private universities. Most of the operating costs of private universities are financed by tuition fees. This important attribute of private education has created a financial interest in attracting more students. Thus, the transition to private higher education and the growing reliance on students as a source of funding in recent years has stimulated institutional or University demand to attract more students. The article is written in the framework of the scientific project of the Ministry of education and science of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Educational migration from Kazakhstan: factors, trends and social and political consequences”.
Key words: migration, student migration, youth, India, higher education institutions.
Educational migration
Migration or movement of people from one region to another has been going on for centuries. However, educational migration is a relatively new form of migration, rooted in the days when the countries of Asia and Africa were under colonial domination. A limited number of young people were selected for higher education in the cities of the Empire, with a view to their further work in the administrative centers of the colonies. According to Goodwin, foreign education at that time played a dual role of “effective management and means of social control”. [1]
The standard academic literature on migration pays virtually no attention to students as migrants: an ironic situation given that most migration scholars encounter students on a daily basis. Recent key texts on the history and theory of migration say absolutely nothing about student migration, or mention it only in a couple of lines. Castles and Miller’s landmark The Age of Migration and Salt’s essay in the recent Appleyard Festschrift extend their attention to around three-quarters of a page; both quote Skeldon who has a slightly more extended treatment. In all these cited cases, however, what little analysis there is takes the form of brief, highly generalized descriptions of macro-scale processes, notably Asians studying in the West, the international ‘business’ of student migration, and allied issues of brain-drain, and so on. No attention is paid to student migration as a sociocultural process, nor to patterns of student migration within Europe. [2]
Thus, it appears that demographers and sociologists on migration have virtually ignored students as worthy of attention in their studies on migration. There are three exceptions to this generalization. The first is a study conducted by King and Shuttleworth in the late 1980s on the emigration of Irish graduates, which traces not only the relationship between a career in fashion and domestic problems since graduation, but also theorizes these movements abroad in the context of Ireland’s economic periphery and the “truncated” graduate, the labour market, but also addressed issues of identity and the “migration culture” of Irish youth. However, it should be noted that the Irish survey involved graduates, not students.
Second, an in-depth study of student migration in Hong Kong was provided. Comparing future intentions to emigrate or work abroad, Li et al. there was no significant difference between Hong Kong students at a University in Hong Kong and those studying in the UK. This somewhat surprising discovery was largely explained by the practical difficulties faced by Hong Kong students in the UK in converting a student visa into a legal way to stay in the country to pursue a career. The authors further highlight the paradox in the UK’s behaviour towards these migrants: on the one hand, the UK continues to encourage student immigration because of significant income; on the other hand, the country’s strong anti-immigration stance prevents these highly skilled professionals from remaining and spreading their skills on the labour market, as many British University graduates in Hong Kong would like to do.
Thirdly, we can note a small group of studies conducted mainly by demographers at the internal migration of students in their own countries, for example, the papers of Belfield and Morris, Johnston and Reece on patterns of movement in the UK and Bella migration and career preferences of University students in Uganda.
Migrants typically leave their country of origin to improve the returns to their productive skills, which in turn reflect their level of education. In some cases, migration takes place to gain education, while in other cases becoming a student in the host country is the preliminary step to gain admission as a migrant later on. Migrating can also have indirect effects on education. For instance, remittances can be used to fund education of family members in the country of origin, or success migrant stories may create incentives to undertake further education in the home country. This mutual influence intertwining migration and educational choices poses practical problems in unraveling the causal links between them, and estimating their effects.
The number of young people wishing to get or continue their education in foreign universities increases every year. For example, in 2012, about 4.5 million students enrolled in higher education outside their country of residence. [3] The main advantages associated with studying abroad for students are the opportunity to receive education at a higher level of quality or in a field of specialization not available in their home country. International educational experience is also considered an important attribute of intercultural competence, useful for future employment.
Education abroad is often seen as a step towards migration in the future. International students, especially from developing countries, often stay in the host country after graduation. A foreign degree is often seen as an investment in finding a job after graduation, either in the host country or at home. Many host countries are interested in hiring talented foreign young people who have graduated from their universities.
Indian students’ migration.
India is a country that, like China, is one of the largest starting points of educational migration to the world’s best universities in developed countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia.
Various reasons may be related to such a significant increase in the number of Indian students travelling abroad for higher education.
1. Indian universities are unable to accept all applicants, especially for master’s and doctoral studies. In a country of more than 1.3 billion people, there are only 504 universities (more than 50% of India’s population under the age of 25 and more than 65% under the age of 35). [4]
2. Admission to higher education institutions in India is very competitive, given that many students leave high school every year, and the places available for admission are quite limited. IIMs (Indian Institute of Management), IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and AIIMS (all India Institute of Medical Sciences) are some of India’s dream schools. The race for admission becomes much more intense depending on the level of training and discipline. In addition, students must deal with stress when taking entrance exams in certain disciplines, such as the joint entrance examination (JEE mains) for engineering colleges and the national qualification and entrance test (NEET) for medical colleges. The study found that on average a student has less than 50% chance of gaining access to a highly professional IIT. [5]
3. The quality of education of Indian universities is also the cause of educational migration. Only a few higher education institutions in the country meet international standards. In their study, W. tether and D. Martin noted: “One of the problems is that prestigious Indian universities – for example, members of the group of national institutes of technology and management – a huge competition, and they simply cannot meet the existing demand for education in the country. And since there is no clear system of quality control of education, universities of the second echelon can vary significantly in the level and quality of education”. [6]
4. A common problem of the Indian education system is that its academic institutions focus only on providing popular STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). A segment of Indian students who want to take the road less traveled are constantly looking to promote their higher education abroad just because their desired program is not widely available in the country. Even if the course is available, universities in India do not have the experience and accreditation to prepare talented students for better career growth.
5. There has been a persistent lack of funding in the Indian education system for several decades. In Indian universities, you can notice an acute shortage of teaching staff. There are 24 students per teacher. The state governments of India pay 80% of the cost of public education. However, their main area of responsibility is primary and secondary education, where three quarters of the funding is spent. The cost of education in universities largely depends on the reputation of the universities themselves.
6. The policy of discrimination against students from low-income families and individual castes in higher education in India leaves 50% in the main universities of the country and reaches 69% in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Thus, the majority of talented students, from certain castes, cannot get higher education in their areas of interest or go to universities of their choice.
7. A degree obtained in foreign universities is considered more prestigious than a degree obtained in Indian educational institutions and is highly valued on the labor market.
8. Middle-class students’ parents of are ready to support their children in their quest to study at universities abroad, and banks in India are ready to provide educational loans at low interest rates. [7]
9. Another motivation for studying abroad is the opportunity to continue scientific research and obtain a doctorate or PhD (for doctoral and undergraduates). Better working conditions and more equipped laboratories in foreign universities are a factor in the departure of young scientists abroad. Students pursuing subjects, especially in research centric areas like biology or pharmacy, do not receive enough support from Indian colleges in terms of infrastructure and resources. Colleges in America, Canada and the UK offer rich resources to provide students with modern technology, equipment and infrastructure to conduct in-depth research. Indian students also particularly choose research courses abroad due to favorable climatic conditions, habitat, and in some cases flora and fauna exclusively in these specific locations.
10. Immigration is one of the main reasons why Indian students, especially at the graduate level, seek a degree abroad. Countries such as the United States and Canada offer attractive employment prospects after graduation, and their flexible immigration policies allow students to seek employment upon graduation. A survey by the U.S. National science Foundation shows that about 80% of students from India and other Asian countries prefer to stay in America after completing their graduate and doctoral studies.
Many countries note that the number of students from India is growing rapidly, even though the number of students from other countries, such as South Korea, China and Saudi Arabia, has either slowed or fallen.
India’s demographic dynamics and economic growth trajectory mean that the number of young people leaving the country for higher education will only increase. Historically, Indian educational migration has been linked to productivity and perceptions of safety. These are factors that vary in varying degrees due to changes in political leadership, immigration policy, etc.in key destination countries such as the US, Canada and the UK.
Understanding the dynamics of student mobility from India, its main directions and factors contributing to its changes is important in predicting further educational migration from India. The main countries hosting Indian students are Canada, UK, Australia, China, New Zealand and Germany.
Graphic 1 Major destination countries for educational migration from India [8]
In seven countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, China, New Zealand and Germany, the total number of students from India increased by 103%, from 138,388 to 281,160, according to several sources.
The increase in the number of students from India among international students studying in the United States is the largest. Their number increased by 24.9%, reaching 165,918 students in 2015-2016. India’s demographic history is impressive, (the age group from 18-24 is estimated at 400 million people (as of 2015). These are groups of young Indians who have a higher level of economic stability than previous generations and have access to higher education. Most young people are seeking higher education in the United States because the Indian education system is unable to fully meet the growing demand for high-quality education.
The mobility of Indian students in countries such as the United Kingdom is stagnating or declining. The prospect of studying in European universities for Indian students has declined, due to the unstable political situation in Europe. The exception is Germany, where the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) Scholarship program operates, which continues to attract the interest of students from India. Australia and Canada. [10]
Graphic 4 Changes in educational mobility of Indian students in 2005-2015 [7].
Most Indian students pay for their studies in foreign universities on their own, there is virtually no state financial support for studying abroad.
Ministry of human resources and development of India
However, the Ministry of human resources and development of India is ready to help young people to get various foreign scholarships, and the official website of the Ministry contains not only links to international scholarships, but also additional information about the scholarships themselves (requirements, questionnaires, links, etc.).):
– Commonwealth scholarships for the United Kingdom and New Zealand
– Scholarships offered by China, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Italy
– Mexico and Sri Lanka.
– Agatha Harrison memorial scholarship. [11]
The only educational mobility scholarship funded nationally in India is the national Overseas scholarship for scheduled castes and tribes (National Overseas Scholarship for Scheduled Castesand Tribes), which has been in operation for over a decade and is administered by the Ministry of social justice and empowerment (MSJE). MSJE is responsible for protecting the interests of registered castes and tribes (SC / ST), a sector of Indian society that has traditionally been at a disadvantage when it comes to access to the same social and economic benefits and opportunities available to other groups. [12]
In some States of India, such as Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, there have recently been some signs of interest in supporting educational migration at the state level. However, only one state, Goa, has developed a scholarship scheme that specifically includes support for study outside India. The Goa education programme, launched in 2003, is managed by the Goa higher education Authority. Its purpose is to support young scientists from Goa, for their services both in India and abroad, in obtaining postgraduate education abroad.
The official website of the Ministry of human resources and development of India lacks accurate statistics on the number of students leaving and returning to India.
Table 1 Educational Statistics – At a Glance [13]
The Ministry also issues a “No obligation to return to India (NORI)” certificate, which is required of Indian students in Canada, the USA, Singapore, etc. In addition, the Ministry also provides subsidies for basic education loan schemes. (CSIS). [14]
India has the largest Diaspora in the world. As of 2015, approximately 16 million Indians live outside the country. The reasons why Indians move to other countries are numerous: better infrastructure, benefits and a high standard of living in some countries, better career prospects and financial stability in others. Whereas, the number of those who consciously return to India is very small.
The reasons for the return of students back home can be several:
1. The tightening of the visa regime in Western countries makes it difficult for Indians who have graduated from the universities of these countries to find a job or stay in the workplace.
2. According to a 2016 study by the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation, 48 % of students from India wanted to stay in the U.S. after graduation, 12% wanted to return to India. Another 40 % of Indian students could not decide on the answer. Those who wanted to return home called family ties the biggest motivator. Long and difficult immigration procedures are also the reason why students want to go back. Some students plan to return because of a sense of commitment and responsibility to their country and the greater contribution they believe they will be able to make in their cities and villages than in developed countries. [15]
3. Indian students abroad, as a group, are relatively sensitive to security-related issues. In may 2017, a survey was conducted in 165 American colleges and universities IIE, AACRAO, Council of higher education, National Association of College admissions counseling (NACAC) and NAFSA. 80 % of students from the Indies of these institutions indicated that physical safety is the most pronounced problem for Indian students. Another 31 % indicated that feeling unwanted is also a problem for Indian students. Such problems are not unique to the United States. For example, in 2008 and 2009, several Indian students (in Australia) were attacked, and the publication of these events led to a 19% drop in the number of students in Australian universities. [16]
Conclusion
A study of the foreign experience of India shows that trends in educational migration, the outflow of talented youth are relevant issues for these countries. Only a competitive economy, financial and professional incentives can retain the best specialists in their country after graduating from a foreign university.
Kazakhstan, like India, is experiencing a large flow of emigration of students to foreign universities. Like in India, in Kazakhstan there are various programs of the European Union aimed at the development of mobility, for example, Erasmus, Socrates, Tempus, as well as projects initiated by national organizations of the member States of the Organization for economic cooperation and development (British Council, DAAD, CIBA, EduFrance and others). Despite the fact that Kazakhstan is actively developing domestic higher education, many young people prefer to get higher education abroad. The number of young people wishing to enter foreign universities is growing every year. However, at the same time, the number of foreign students wishing to enter Kazakhstani universities is also growing. For example, according to the UNESCO statistics database (2019), 3719 students from India are studying in Kazakhstan universities. Thus, it can be noted that the opportunity to get higher education abroad is a more attractive idea for young people than entering Kazakhstani universities. By studying the experience of states that have a rich experience in educational migration (such as India), Kazakhstan can determine the main directions in its student mobility policy in order to avoid social and political threats of loss of human capital.
References and Notes
[1] Shahana, M. & Rupa, C. (2012). Indian Student Mobility to European countries: an overview. CARIM-India – Developing a knowledge base for policymaking on India-EU migration, 7.
[2] King, R. & Ruiz–Gelices, E. (2003). International student migration and the “Year Abroad” effects of European identity and subsequent migration behaviour. International Journal of Population Geography, 9: 229-252.
[3] OECD. (2017). Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en. Retrieved on 29.11.2019;
[4] Вершинина, И. А. (2012). Урбанизация в Индии: социологический анализ, Вестник Московского университета. Серия 18: Социология и политология, 3: 226-236 [Vershinina, I. A. (2012). Urbanizaciya v Indii: sociologicheskij analiz, Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 18: Sociologiya i politologiya, 3: 226-236]
[5] Top 5 Reasons Why Indian Students Study Abroad, SchoolApply – helps students from anywhere in the world connect with great educational programs. https://www.schoolapply.co.in/blog/posts/2017/october/top-5-reasons–why–indian–students–choose–to–study–abroad. Retrieved on 05.11.2019;
[6] Тетер, У., Мартин, Д. (2014). Индия: тенденции в сфере студенческой мобильности, «Международное высшее образование», Русскоязычная версия информационного бюллетеня «International Higher Education (Бостонский колледж, США). 74: 26-36 [Teter, U., Martin, D. (2014). Indiya: tendencii v sfere studencheskoj mobil’nosti, «Mezhdunarodnoe vysshee obrazovanie», Russkoyazychnaya versiya informacionnogo byulletenya «International Higher Education (Bostonskij kolledzh, SSHA). 74: 26-36]
[7] India: Mapping Student Mobility From the World’s Number 2 Sender, World Education News & Reviews. https://wenr.wes.org/2017/08/india–mapping–student–mobility–from–the–worlds–number-2-sender. Retrieved on 18.10.2019;
[8] Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students Global: India, UNESCO. http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow. Retrieved on 10.10.2019.
[9] US: IIE Open Doors; Australia, UK, and China: Project Atlas; Canada: Government of Canada. http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/052642bb-3fd9-4828-b608-c81dff7e539c?_ga=2.258746442.1767971637.1501008235-1779509998.1499982978. Retrieved on 18.10.2019; New Zealand: New Zealand Ministry of Education. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/indicators/data/student-engagement-participation/3748. Retrieved on 18.10.2019; Germany: Federal Statistical Office. http://www.wissenschaftweltoffen.de/daten/2016/1/2/3. Retrieved on 18.10.2019.
[10] The rationale for sponsoring students to undertake international study: an assessment of national student mobility scholarship programmes. (2014), British Council, DAAD, Boston College CIHE, GO Group, 31-34. http://bit.ly/AO88Kr4. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
[11] Scholarships & Education Loan. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. http://mhrd.gov.in/scholarships-education-loan. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
[12] Perveen, K., Shantanu, S. & Rashmi, S. (2009). Migration and Diaspora Formation: Mobility of Indian Students to Developed Countries, International Migration and Diaspora Studies Project, #8, 29-45.
[13] Educational Statistics – At a Glance. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. http://mhrd.gov.in/statist. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
[14] No Obligation to Return to India (NORI). Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. http://mhrd.gov.in/scholarships-education-loan-3. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
[15] Will They Stay or Will They Go? (2016). International Graduate Students and Their Decisions to Stay or Leave the U.S. the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. https://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/research%20reports%20and%20covers/2016/stem_students_final. Retrieved on 09.09.2019.
[16] UNESCO institute for statistics (UIS) (2019). UNESCO. http://data.uis.unesco.org/. Retrieved on 10.10.2019.
Bibliography
Educational Statistics – At a Glance. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. http://mhrd.gov.in/statist. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
Germany: Federal Statistical Office. http://www.wissenschaftweltoffen.de/daten/2016/1/2/3. Retrieved on 18.10.2019.
Global Flow of Tertiary-Level Students Global: India, UNESCO. http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow. Retrieved on 10.10.2019.
Hercog, M. & van de Laar, M. (2017). Motivations and Constraints of Moving Abroad for Indian Students Int. Migration & Integration August, Volume 18, Issue 3, 749–770.
India: Mapping Student Mobility From the World’s Number 2 Sender, World Education News & Reviews. https://wenr.wes.org/2017/08/india–mapping–student–mobility–from–the–worlds–number-2-sender. Retrieved on 18.10.2019;
Kaushik, B. (2007). India’s demographic dividend. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6911544.stm. Retrieved on 18.10.2019.
King, R. & Ruiz–Gelices, E. (2003). International student migration and the “Year Abroad” effects of European identity and subsequent migration behaviour. International Journal of Population Geography, # 9, 229-252.
New Zealand: New Zealand Ministry of Education. https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/indicators/data/student–engagement–participation/3748. Retrieved on 18.10.2019.
No Obligation to Return to India (NORI). Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. http://mhrd.gov.in/scholarships-education-loan-3. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
OECD. (2017). Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en. Retrieved on 29.11.2019.
Perveen, K., Shantanu, S., Rashmi, S. (2009). Migration and Diaspora Formation: Mobility of Indian Students to Developed Countries, International Migration and Diaspora Studies Project, #8, 29-45.
Scholarships & Education Loan. Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. http://mhrd.gov.in/scholarships-education-loan. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
Shahana, M., Rupa, C. (2012). Indian Student Mobility to European countries: an overview. CARIM-India – Developing a knowledge base for policymaking on India-EU migration. p. 7.
The rationale for sponsoring students to undertake international study: an assessment of national student mobility scholarship programmes. (2014), British Council, DAAD, Boston College CIHE, GO Group., 31-34. http://bit.ly/AO88Kr4. Retrieved on 15.10.2019.
Top 5 Reasons Why Indian Students Study Abroad, SchoolApply – helps students from anywhere in the world connect with great educational programs. https://www.schoolapply.co.in/blog/posts/2017/october/top-5-reasons-why-indian-students-choose-to-study-abroad, Retrieved on 05.11.2019.
UNESCO institute for statistics (UIS) (2019). UNESCO. http://data.uis.unesco.org/, Retrieved on 10.10.2019.
US: IIE Open Doors; Australia, UK, and China: Project Atlas; Canada: Government of Canada. http://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/052642bb-3fd9-4828-b608-c81dff7e539c?_ga=2.258746442.1767971637.1501008235-1779509998.1499982978. Retrieved on 18.10.2019.
Will They Stay or Will They Go? (2016). International Graduate Students and Their Decisions to Stay or Leave the U.S. the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. https://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/research%20reports%20and%20covers/2016/stem_students_final. Retrieved on 09.09.2019.
Вершинина, И. А. (2012). Урбанизация в Индии: социологический анализ, Вестник Московского университета. Серия 18: Социология и политология, 3: 226-236 [Vershinina, I. A. (2012). Urbanizaciya v Indii: sociologicheskij analiz, Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 18: Sociologiya i politologiya, 3: 226-236]
Тетер, У., Мартин, Д. (2014). Индия: тенденции в сфере студенческой мобильности, «Международное высшее образование», Русскоязычная версия информационного бюллетеня «International Higher Education (Бостонский колледж, США). 74: 26-36 [Teter, U., Martin, D. (2014). Indiya: tendencii v sfere studencheskoj mobil’nosti, «Mezhdunarodnoe vysshee obrazovanie», Russkoyazychnaya versiya informacionnogo byulletenya «International Higher Education (Bostonskij kolledzh, SSHA). 74: 26-36]
Manuscript was submitted: 17.05.2020.
Double Blind Peer Reviews: from 21.07.2020 till 30.07.2020.
Accepted: 01.08.2020
Брой 45 на сп. „Реторика и комуникации“, октомври 2020 г. се издава с финансовата помощ на Фонд научни изследвания, договор № КП-06-НП1/39 от 18 декември 2019 г.
Issue 45 of the Rhetoric and Communications Journal (October 2020) is published with the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund, Contract No. KP-06-NP1/39 of December 18, 2019.