Page 46 - Forbes - India (January 2020)

STudy In IndIa
pre-BudgeT Special

niche courses in yoga, Buddhism, so far through the SII initiative.
Tibetan studies, ayurveda and more. Colleges like NMIMS and IIT-
The target markets are Europe, Madras have not seen foreign
Latin America, North America students coming specifically through
and Middle East,” says Kumar. SII as of now. “The institute started
Ten years ago, Fawzia Merzaye, advertising it four months ago. It
26, from Afghanistan had got a hopes that it will start to see fruits
scholarship to India from the Balkh of that outreach in the coming
province, but her family did not semester,” says Prof Mahesh
allow her to travel for higher studies. Panchagnula, dean (international and
“Due to regional fanaticism and alumni relations) at IIT-Madras.
conditions at the time, my family There are other challenges that
opposed the move. But luckily, over need to be addressed. “The average
the years, there have been significant GMAT score to get admission in a
changes... now girls have the right to “The Sii programme two-year MBA PGPX programme at
study and can go out of the country iS workiNg oN IIM-Ahmedabad is more than 700. So
to pursue further education. When students who are academically strong
I got an offer from the Symbiosis ScholarShipS for and get the desired score have an
International University, I was STudeNTS, gloBal opportunity to study in any country.
extremely happy,” says Merzaye, There are less chances of them opting
who came to India in August 2018 hoSTelS aNd Bridge to study in India because they have
via the SII programme and is courSeS.” better options for colleges. Also,
pursuing an MBA in agri business. they will get better job opportunities
More than 150 institutions in Manoj KuMar, Chairman and MD, EdCIL in other countries,” says a faculty
India have enrolled with EdCIL India, the implementing agency of SII member from IIM-Ahmedabad.
46 to offer seats and scholarships for According to Dr Yeravdekar, a
international students, including lot of universities don't want foreign
top universities from IITs and institutions” to `400 crore from students because they don't want to
IIMs, NITs, the OP Jindal Global `128.9 crore, to “establish ten world- get into too many hassles. “This is
University, Narsee Monjee class institutions each in public and because the students come from a
Institute of Management Studies private sector in a reasonable time”. weak education background and need
(NMIMS) and the Symbiosis According to MHRD, till August to be trained well. Nobody wants to
International University. 2019, 7,266 students had submitted put in those efforts. Our teachers have
“Since the inception of SII, we their final applications on the SII to train these international students
have partnered with the National portal. After evaluation, it brought before they start pursuing their course.
Institutional Ranking Framework 2,786 students from 86 countries to How many of us are willing to do
(NIRF) and National Assessment India, a majority of them from Nepal, that? Universities need to understand
and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, that in the long run, it’s going to pay
certified institutions in the country. Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, not only for us but for our country
We cater to NIRF Top 100 institutes in Tanzania, Nigeria and Indonesia. as well.” She adds that the Indian
any category except medical institutes, The Symbiosis International embassies across the world needs to
along with a NAAC accreditation University, which has had global be proactive and the higher education
of 3.26 or above and those which students since 1971, supported EdCIL system here needs to be marketed
have been empanelled by UGC, be it in creating a lot of the processes. well. “It's not just about attracting
government or private,” says Kumar. “We’ve streamlined our admission students, we need to ease out things
The government provisioned `50 process for foreign students. This like visa issues, their internship as well
crore in the 2018-2019 Budget and is why we were involved in SII. as employability,” says Dr Yeravdekar.
`65 crore in the 2019-2020 Budget We are happy the government has Besides, with students from
for the programme, primarily for initiated this programme because this esteemed universities agitating against
brand promotion activities. Besides is what was done by the founder of fee hikes, the stifling of democracy
attracting students, the idea is to Symbiosis, Dr Mazumdar, way back in and incidents of police action against
build quality institutions. In Budget 1971,” says Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, pro students, the SII programme has a
. 2019, the government increased chancellor of Symbiosis International major challenge in projecting India

. the allocation for “world-class University, which has got 85 students as a global educational hub.
.
forbes india • january 31, 2020