Study Abroad & Indian Students: A Career/ Trap?

2.5 lakh in the USA, 3 lakh in Canada, 1.3 lakh in the UK, and 80,000 in Australia! These figures represent the number of Indian students who went to study abroad in 2023. In total, the figure stands at 13 LAKHS and this is 68% jump in 2023 compared to 2021.

Students who have gone to these countries for their studies, on average spend around ₹ 32 lakh/year, but the question that pokes my mind is, ‘Are they happy despite spending so much money?’ The bitter truth is that some are not!

Indian students, the largest group of Immigrants, find it difficult to get a job/ even unpaid internships and so many of them are now planning to return to India as some of them could not manage even their living expenses.

The other question to address is ‘Why do Students of Indian Origin face violence in the USA/ other Western Countries?’ Even if there are some positive stories of Students getting into top positions, there is a dark side as well.

The Ground Reality!

• In addition to the prominent countries mentioned above, Indian Students also study in countries like Kyrgyzstan, Taiwan, Italy, Bangladesh and even Venezuela (a South American country that requires 30 hours to reach from India).
• 38% of the Indian Students are from just 4 Indian states, Punjab, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh.
• 60% of students go in for a Master’s degree, while 33% of them go for their Bachelors.

With these numbers in mind, it is important to address the problems faced by the students with Indian Colleges and Universities. Is going abroad for your studies worth it? What are the drawbacks in India’s Education System and How do we correct the mistakes if any? In this blog, You will find out the answers to these questions!

Tournament-like Education System – The Entrance Exams to enter India’s top Institutes are nothing less than a rat race.

• In 2023, the number of students competing in NEET UG Exams for just 1.4 lakh medical and dental seats was around 20 lakh.
• In JEE, 11 lakh students compete for just 17000 seats. (i.e., 4% acceptance rate)
• In UPSC prelims, 10 lakh people take the exam, but you find just 1000 people in the final list of selected candidates.

In the Indian Education system, these exams act like a filter. Those who pass this filter get a lifelong stamp in the job market and marriages.

Those students who did not pass this filter, get placed in private colleges. The problem in our society is that we do not have any middle class in these colleges. Either there are IITs, and IIMs that are highly praised,  or there are colleges in very bad conditions.

Case study

There is some conclusive evidence to support this statement. The performance of a college is assessed by the SKILLS that its student has. To assess the skills, a survey was conducted for the Indian youth between the age group of 15 to 29 years. The result was that most of the students failed to perform simple tasks like attaching a document to a mail, installing software etc. In some states, only 20% of the students were able to do it. In the world of AI and ChatGPT, we see the future of our country failing to send emails by attaching a document.

• In business Schools, Only 7% of the students getting out as a business graduate are employable.
• In Engineering Colleges, According to AICET, the average Student-Teacher ratio in our country should be 15:1, whereas in our country, it is 28:1. In Bihar, it is 68:1 and in Jharkhand, it is 81:1.

According to V. Ragunathan, Professor at the IIM, Many colleges in India are a real estate racket held by politicians without adhering to proper regulations. Students also face challenges without exposure to practical skills making it difficult to perform well in the job market.

So, Indian Students are left with only 2 options! Get into the tournament to reach IIT/IIM or take the risk and get into colleges providing quality education at affordable fees. This is the reason, why many students go abroad for their higher education.

Focus on RETURNS TO EDUCATION!

According to the World Bank Report, When Indians migrate within their country to different places, their income increases by 40%. When they go abroad, their income increases further by 120%.

WORK Atmosphere

India is the 6^th largest hardworking country, where employees are forced to work even after their shifts. On average, Indians work for 48 hours.

In some companies, the professional atmosphere is so toxic, and many employees don’t have as many legal options as abroad as capitalism is so deep in those countries. So, Indians find it difficult to find a career.

QUALITY of Life

This is very subjective. Consider Air Pollution in Delhi, research claims that if you live in Delhi, on average your life gets reduced by 12 years. In other terms, quality of life would mean freedom of movement and varied lifestyles, population, basic infrastructure cleanliness, noise pollution etc. This varies from one person to another.

The STATUS theory

The best indicator is the Marriage market. If the groom is settled abroad, dowry is expected more. A man with money and a woman with English-speaking skills are considered the best marriage match. The couple can apply for Student visa and then a Spouse visa and get out of the country to settle abroad.

Does that mean if you get out of India and land abroad, you will get a job for sure? Unfortunately, this does not work that way!

Most Indians find it difficult to find jobs because of the economic slowdown that happened after the COVID-19 outbreak. Many Indian students who have gone abroad are trying to reduce their basic needs. Why? They are not getting jobs. Even part-time jobs do not suffice for their minimum necessities.

Students have to complete their abroad education and spend a few months looking for jobs. If they do not get the desired one, they end up taking up jobs like working in supermarkets, which cannot even cover their food expenses.

For some students, it is difficult to find even unpaid internships.

THE PROBLEM OF MASS LAYOFFS in JOB MARKET

According to the companies, there is no demand for their products/services. As a consequence, there is ultimately low revenue. To show profits, the companies have to fire people and not hire people to reduce the costs.

The story is the same for Tech giants, startups and even small businesses.

In 2021, FED, which is the central bank of America kept the interest rates close to 0%. This means that taking loans was easy and so companies had a lot of money in their hands. As money became cheap, they over hired. In today’s scenario, the interest rates are not just 0%, but 5.5%. Thus, Money is not cheap anymore. As a consequence, many companies fire people. Even in the stock markets, The stock price of the company increases when they fire people. This copycat behaviour is followed by American companies as a trend. The same goes with Canada and the UK.

INFLATION

60% of the workers say that their income is not sufficient to keep up with inflation.

53% who received pay bump can’t keep pace with inflation.

This is why Indian students try to save money on basic things. In the past few days, Inflation is getting reduced. This does not mean that Cost of Living is improving. After 30-40% of state and national taxes combined with increased rentals, there will be nothing much left with even the high income people to save. Thus as a student, they are forced to take up part-time jobs.

It is when they enter the job market they realize that their degrees has no/limited value. To support this statement, the UK PM, Rishi Sunak has also addressed in an interview that Many Universities in the UK offer low-quality courses.

Many students who go the study abroad, do not realize that their colleges are Tier-2 and Tier-3, whose degrees have no value in the job market and end up being unemployed. Even Canada has the similar situation.

THE STRUGGLE FOR VISA!

In India, getting a visa appointment is so difficult that you will have to wait for a year.

Remember, the H1-B visa for USA? In USA, Students can work for a year after graduation on an OPT visa. If your degree is of STEM, then you will get an extension of 2 years. After 3 years, the real struggle for Visa starts. The H1-B visa has fixed number of slots i.e.,85000 slots/year. The irony is that every year, 3.5 lakh people apply for it. Just like winning a LOTTERY TICKET. As a result, lots of scams arises.

THE STRUGGLE FOR GREEN CARD!

Green Card provides an status equivalent to permanent residence in the USA. This process takes a lot of years for Indian citizens. This process can bring you anxiety, loneliness and even depression. This is due to the difference between the Indian and American cultural system.

Increased VIOLENCE

People of Indian origin face attacks, even in most important cities of USA like San Francisco, New York. The plight of drug abuse and homelessness is rampant, leading to increase in crime rates.

CONCLUSION

The story of Indian students with a dream to study and establish a career abroad is not the same for all. Success in settling abroad requires resources and this privilege is only for Tier-1 Indians.

To look at this, there are two sides of the coin. At first, there are some successful students getting hefty packages and settle abroad and then there are others, who do not get that opportunity. It is all about individual decisions.

For similar articles, consider clicking links –

ECONOMY – https://www.scrolledstories.com/category/economy

SOCIETY – https://www.scrolledstories.com/category/social-indicators