Looking back on two Years of Modi Government: Education

During a recent visit to India, the UK Minister for Science and Universities, Jo Johnson, announced that 2016 was the year of ‘UK-India Education, Research and Innovation’. While this sounds positive, the number of overseas students coming to study in Britain from Commonwealth countries, such as India and Pakistan, has dwindled.

Figures published by HESA shows that the total number of higher education enrolments at UK Higher Education Partnerships stood at 2,266,075 in 2014/15, a decrease of 1% – 33,280 in overall numbers –  from 2013/14. This overall decrease is mainly due to a decline in undergraduate enrolments, which fell by 2% and part-time enrolments which decreased by 6% between 2013/14 and 2014/15.

‘Indian students in London were the third largest revenue generator for the city having contributed a whopping £130 million in 2014,’ a report from The Lords Science and Technology Committee revealed last month.

The document warned: ‘The declining numbers [of Indian students] is a cause for concern. The rules are seen as too complex and subject to endless changes, the visa costs are not competitive, and the rules relating to work after study are so limiting that prospective students are heading to the US, Australia, Canada and elsewhere.’

This shouldn’t be a cause for alarm – there are plenty of other opportunities. With the Modi government having majority in Lok Sabha (lower House), they have been able to a number of initiatives towards providing education to all and an endeavour ‘Swayam’ was being undertaken with the help of IITs, IIMs, central universities, NITs and some private universities to provide free online education to children for classes 9 to 12, including board examinations. Even as education budgets have drawn mixed reactions, skill and formal learning have been intricately linked, and budgetary allocations suggest a strong shift towards higher education as also observed in a recent article by UKIBC’s COO, Kevin McCole.

McCole commented: ‘India with its predicted GDP of 7.5% has overtaken China as the fasted growing economy and with its new and changing political and economic priorities has provided the UK business schools with many opportunities.

He stressed that one such policy is the ‘Make in India’ campaign launched by Prime Minister Modi in September 2014 where the UK universities and colleges could:

– Do collaborative research and R+D with Indian corporates.

– Provide world-class talent to lead these corporates as they increasingly internationalise.

India is an incredibly innovative society and economy and it is important that universities recognise that and make an effort to engage more with the Indian market. With the much-awaited new education policy to be announced before May 26 when the Narendra Modi Government completes its two years in office, we can see that education is clearly a primary focus for the Government.

To get involved in the conversation tweet @UKIBC using the hashtag #Modi2Years.