Education

The education sector can play a vital role in strengthening linkages between NRIs/PIOs and India.

The education sector can play a vital role in strengthening linkages between NRIs/PIOs and India.

After considering the report of the Expert Group on "the Role of Education in strengthening linkages between the Diaspora and India", constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development at the request of the High Level Committee, the Committee concluded that India has to adopt a multi-pronged strategy in meeting the aspirations of different sections of the Diaspora and its own policy objectives in this crucial sector.

HT Image

Thus, to meet the demand for quality school education in India which emanates mainly from the Diaspora in the Gulf countries, the Committee recommended:

1. Building of new residential schools on a financially viable basis;

2. Expansion of existing facilities including residential facilities;

3. Introduction of innovative curricula which is relevant to their needs as well as to those of the Indian students enrolled in these schools;

4. Provision of seats in Navodaya schools and good private schools in India for the less privileged sections who can neither afford to take their children abroad nor have the financial resources to send them to residential schools in India;

5. Setting up institutions like the United World College, and launching of student exchange programmes during vacations.

6. Similarly, there is great demand for admission to India's prestigious technical and medical institutions at the University level from the Gulf region, some of the countries in the Caribbean, Fiji, Africa and South East Asia. The Committee recommended increasing the number of seats in existing colleges and universities;

7. Launching of offshore campuses of Indian universities like IITs, IIMs and medical colleges in collaboration with governments in host countries;

8. Launching courses through distance learning;

9. Devising innovative mechanisms to interact with senior Indian academics in the Universities of advanced countries, who are extremely keen to contribute to the development of education in India;

10.Setting up of new Universities and professional institutions offering courses of international standards in Management, Information Technology, Media, Agricultural Research, Medicine, Food processing, and other areas in demand, to which Indian students would also be eligible for admission.

11.A data bank on Indian academics of repute should be maintained and the Committee strongly recommends that renewed effort to cultivate this section of the Indian Diaspora be made.

This would stem the outflow of foreign exchange on account of the outgo of talented Indian students to foreign institutions that are being aggressively promoted in India.