According to the statistics, in 2024 over 1. From the existing population, over 3 million Indian students are studying abroad and hence to solve this problem, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for the enhancement of the Indian education System. During his speech at the 78th Independence Day celebrations in New Delhi, Modi expressed his vision: ”Our aim and conception is to establish an education system in India which caters that the young generation does not look forward to abroad education, instead we wish to see foreign students coming to India for their education. ”
Despite ODA’s vision of increasing the number of international students to over 500 000 by 2047, at the moment the number of these students is approximately 47 000. Majority of these student originates from the neighbouring South Asian countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. What are the Reasons for Indian Students to Study in Foreign Countries?
Most people think the Indian student flow to foreign universities is not only due to the absence of great education in the country. For example, Singh, an education expert, added that, ‘most of the students are planning for overseas education as a way to get a job and ultimately an opportunity for immigration to foreign nations, therefore, the only way to solve this problem is by providing employment and job avenues to the fellows for different fields in India’.
GOVERNMENT’S PLAN TO INCREASE MEDICAL SEATS
Recent years saw government trying to increase the number of medical seats by some policies for the uplift of the downtrodden of the society.
In a speech that he delivered in the Red Fort, Modi unveiled the Plans of the government in regards to the availability of Medical education and health care saying that the Indian government will increase 75000 new medical seats across the country in the next five years. Making this decision comes at a time when about 25000 Indian youths are travelling outside India for the purpose of getting medical education in countries which may not even have well defined educational facilities.
“To this day, children, primarily of the middle class, are traveling to other countries for the purpose of education in the medical field, investing their hard earned money of lakhs and crores,” Modi said. The Indian government wants enough seats in medical colleges in the country to ensure that the student gets what he or she wants without traveling abroad.
Innovations in the geographical locations where Indian medical students look for their studies.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has forced students to look for other countries such as China, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Poland for medical education. This change has also underlined the need for the infrastructure of education system in India to be strengthened.
Increase in the Number of Medical Seats in India
India has witness a steady rise in the number of medical seats during the past one decade. Undergraduate seats for the BMBS have multiplied by two from 51348 in 2013/14 financial year to 108940 in the 2023/24 financial year as stated by the health ministry. Likewise, postgraduate seats rose to 70,674 in the same period from 31,185 previously, the petition added.
“We have added to the health care facilities by approving a rise in the norms of accredited hospitals and first MBBS positions in the medical colleges,” said Modi. This expansion is to allow more students achieve their dreams of practicing medicine within the country.
Challenges to Overcome
However, there are still some of problems existing in the field. It cost a bomb: AIIMS-like institutions are struggling to fill faculty positions, while increasing the number of seats could spell Murphy’s law, said Sujatha Rao, former union health secretary. She was keen to stress that the UK requires a coherent long-term policy for tackling deficits of human resources in the medical arena instead of quick solutions.