Nearly 40% slots for foreign students unused for the past three years due to poor diplomacy and lack of coordination between MHRD, Finance and MEA
Out of the 3,465 scholarship slots offered by the union government to foreign students for pursuing higher education in India, 1,361 (39%) remained unused in 2013-14, states the annual report of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).
The scene hasn't been very different in previous years too, when almost the same, or sometimes more, slots remained vacant, pointing to failure of the Indian diplomatic missions aboard.
Most of these scholarships, which include free education in top universities, along with free boarding and lodging, are offered to developing countries in Southeast Asia, Afghanistan and the African continent.
Why have missions failed to get candidates?
Experts blame it on poor diplomacy of the Indian missions abroad, which are entrusted with popularising the scholarship schemes in their respective countries through media and educational bodies. "Bureaucratic approach of our embassies, tedious application process and lack of transparency deters students from applying," said an office of Indian Foreign Service.
An ex-ambassador said, "These scholarships are offered on a yearly basis, but by the time government makes the budgetary provision and embassies announce the scheme, the year comes to an end. With such little time in hand, we can't complete the application sorting process."
"A large number of self-financing students come to India every year, the vacant slots can definitely help some of the deserving candidates," said a South African student studying in Mumbai university. He said he was unaware of any such scholarship or else he would have applied.
Is our policy flawed?
Diplomats point out that 90% scholarships offered are for the study of Indian languages, culture, Ayurveda and social sciences, whereas demand is for technology, medicine and management courses.
Ex-ambassador of European Union Rajendra Abhayankar says, "The high commissions have been telling government this, but due to huge domestic demand (for the latter) we are unable to do anything in that respect as of now."
Is poor rating of Indian universities deterring foreigners?
None of the universities in India are ranked among world's top 100, which shows a poor picture of Indian higher education. Barring few central universities, IITs and IIMs, no Indian higher education institution is known outside the country.
An MHRD official admitted, "A majority of foreign students want to study in Delhi, Kolkata, Osmania and Pune universities. They refuse admission to lesser- known ones after poor feedback from ex-students."
Are China and others benefitting from India's reluctance?
Yes. "Many countries, namely the US, China and Japan, are offering a good number of scholarships and they popularise them aggressively too. Their process is less complicated than India's and universities there are rated higher than Indian varsities, so students prefer to go there," said another MHRD official.
Do scholarships help expand country's influence in the world?
Scholarships are aimed at strengthening cultural relations with other countries and improve image of the nation among foreign youth. They also help build stronger ties between two countries, facilitating diplomatic, business and research alliances later on.
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