GLOBALIZING HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: A STEP TOWARDS MULTICULTURALISM - A REVIEW Sunita Sharma Maniben Nanavati Women’s College sunitasharma12@yahoo.co.in Abstract Prime Minister Modi’s initiative “Educate in India” announced in May 2015, the objective is to attract international students and make India, a quality higher education hub in Asia. India aspires to transition from having the second highest student population leaving its shores to study abroad, to become a premier educational destination attracting more international students to its shores. The paper reviews the growth of higher education system in India, draws inspirations from the experiences of other Asian countries and then reviews India’s piece of global cake. It also discusses the benefits of multiculturalism, which are going to flow in the Indian economy following Internationalization of higher education. Keywords: higher education, educate in India, International students in India, Gross Enrollment Ratio I INTRODUCTION India’s bold initiative “Educate in India” announced in May 2015, to attract international students and make India a quality higher education hub in Asia is closely linked to Prime Minister Modi’s other initiatives namely ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Start-up India’, ‘Stand-up India’ and ‘Swatch Bharat’,Chadha, B & Dugar, A.(2016). All aimed towards empowering India and making it a global economic superpower. India aspires to transition from having the second highest student population, leaving its shores to study abroad to become a premier educational destination attracting more international students to its shores. “Educate in India” is an initiative focused on higher education. Its objectives are to: • Internationalize Indian higher education • Encourage foreign universities to establish campuses in India • Encourage Indian institutions to set up campuses abroad • Making India a hub of education • Create an “Educate in India brand Chopra, R (2015, May28) The paper analyzes the growth of Indian Higher Education System while comparing with the education systems of other countries, as new private and foreign universities are entering the Indian educational system and are offering many options to the student’s, which were not available before. This paper attempts to review the current global status of India’s higher education. The data used is collected from various secondary sources. Interviews were conducted with Principals of Colleges and Indian students returning after completing their higher education from foreign universities to know the impact of multiculturalism due to internationalization of higher education. II MATERIALS AND METHOD The growth of higher education is determined by the size of the institutional capacity of the higher education system in the country, this is determined mainly by the three indicators, namely number of educational institutions – universities and colleges, number of teachers and number of students. The higher education in India has witnessed increase in its institutional capacity since independence. mailto:sunitasharma12@yahoo.co.in 4 | Sunita Sharma Lingual (Vol. 10, No.1, 2018) Table 1: Growth of Higher Education Capacity Indicators 1950 1991 2006 2010 2012 2015 Number of University Level Institutions 25 177 367 533 574 711 Number of Colleges 700 7,346 18,064 31,324 35,539 40,760 Number of Teachers (in Thousands) 15 272 488 699 934 1261 Number of Students Enrolled (in Millions) 0.1 4.9 11.2 14.6 20.3 26.5 Source: UGC (2011a), UGC (2012) and UGC (2015) The number of universities in the country has increased from 25 to 711 during 1950-2015. Similarly, the number of degree colleges in the country, which were not more than 700 in 1950, has gone up to 40,760 in 2016. The number of teachers has gone up from meager fifteen thousand to more than twelve lakhs. Similarly, the enrollment of students has increased from merely 0.1 million in 1950 to 26.5 million in the year 2015. 2.1 THE GROWTH OF UNIVERSITY LEVEL INSTITUTIONS In India, university-level institutions widely differ in terms of their structure and coverage. These could be broadly divided into six broad groups: central university, state universities, institutions deemed to be universities, institutions of national importance established under state legislation and private universities. Although, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of these institutions, more specifically in recent years, yet the growth trajectory has not been uniform for these different types of university-level institutions. Table 2. The growth of University Level Institutions in India Type 2010 2011 2012 2015 2016 Central Universities 41 43 44 46 47 State Universities 257 265 286 329 356 Institutions deemed to be Universities 130 130 129 128 122 Institutions of National Importance (by State Legislation) 5 5 4 3 - Institutions of National Importance (by Central Legislation) 39 39 50 - - Private Universities 61 80 111 205 252 Total 533 562 624 711 777 Source: UGC (2011a), UGC (2012), UGC (2015) and UGC (2016) There has been a considerable increase in the number of central universities in recent years. Their number has increased from 18 in 2002 to 47 in 2016 (Table 2). Similarly, the number of institutions of national importance like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), National Institute of Technology (NIT) etc established by the central government has also registered a significant increase from 12 in the year 2002 to 50 in 2012. The state universities have also witnessed a consistent increase in their numbers. From 178 in 2002, the number of state universities has increased to 356 in the year 2016. Many Educational institutions were provided the status of deemed to be university by the UGC and the number of such institutions has gone up from 52 in 2002 to 130 in 2011. However, presently the number of deemed universities showing a decline is placed at 122. Furthermore, the state universities have also witnessed a consistent increase in their numbers. From 178 in 2002, the number has increased to the figure of 356 in the year 2016. An unprecedented growth of private universities has been a marked feature of expansion of Indian higher education in recent years. The number of private universities in the country has swelled from 10 in 2006 to 252 in 2016. This significant growth of university level institutions has taken place in India in recent years and in this uprise private sector has played a significant role. 2.2 GROWTH OF COLLEGES There has been a significant increase in the number of degree level colleges in the country from 700 at the time of independence to 40,760 in 2015 (Table 3). Table 3. The growth of Undergraduate Colleges in India Year Total Number of Colleges 1950 1991 2005 2011 2012 2015 700 7,346 17,625 32,964 35,539 40,760 Source: UGC (2011a), UGC (2012) and UGC (2015) The rapid increase in the number of colleges in recent years is due to the large-scale establishment of private colleges in all parts of the country. 2.3 HIGHER EDUCATION PARTICIPATION IN INDIA Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) generally measures the higher education participation in higher education. GER measures the access level by taking the ratio of persons in all age groups enrolled in various educational programmes to the total population in age group of 18 to 23 years. The analysis of GER in higher education in India over years revealed that from 0.40 percent in 1950-51 reached a level of 6 percent in 1989-90 (Table 4). Table 4. Gross Enrollment Ratio in Higher Education in India (various years) Year GER 1950 - 1951 1989 - 1990 1999 – 2000 2009 – 2010 2012 – 2013 2014 – 2015 0.40% 6.0% 10.0% 15.0% 19.4% 23.6% Source: GOI (2013b), GOI (2013d) and GOI (2015) This reached the level of 10 percent in 1999-2000 India moved from an elite system of higher education to a mass system when it crossed the threshold of 15 percent in 2009-2010 The reports of All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) have placed the GER figure at 19.4 percent in 2012-13 and at 23.6 percent in 2014-15. The Government of India has set the target of increasing the GER to 30 percent by 2020. The figures of GER in higher education in India referred to above are quite encouraging. However, when these figures of GER are compared with the figures on GER of developed countries, it emerges that despite the considerable expansion in higher education, India’s GER is far below than the other countries. Table 5. Gross Enrollment Ratio in Higher Education of Select Countries 6 | Sunita Sharma Lingual (Vol. 10, No.1, 2018) Select Countries GER in Higher Education Brazil China Russia Argentina USA World 34% 34% 77% 68% 83% 29% Source: GOI (2013 b) The GER of the USA at 83 percent is far ahead of India. The world average is 29 percent which is also above India. 2.4 CELEBRATING THE ENTRY OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION An unprecedented growth of private universities has been a marked feature of expansion of Indian higher education in recent years (refer Fig. 1) Fig. 1. The growth of Private Universities in India Source: UGC (2012), UGC (2015) and UGC (2016) In India 33% (252/777) of universities are in private sector, with emergence of private equity in Indian higher education, there is a changing dynamics with reference to Governance, design and development of the curriculum, technology-driven academic delivery process, development of the intellectual capital, institutional v/s knowledge branding and pricing strategy. In the era of changing science of learning, India is attracting the world’s attention. III RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 THE ASIAN EXPERIENCE The four native English-speaking countries – US, UK, Canada and Australia are the preferred destinations of higher education. However, the major competition is now coming from Asian countries like China, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, which have done exceedingly well in improving their quality internally as well as globalizing their higher education to attract more international students. Today, more and more students from third world countries are able to afford studies in these Asian countries. Singapore: It is among the first Asian countries, to start education – hub trend in 2 002, by launching, the ‘Global School house’ initiative, with a goal to have 150,000 international students in Singapore by 2015. As per the QS World University ranking 2015/16 (QS, 2015), Singapore’s National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University have a world ranking of 12th and 13th position, respectively. In addition, Singapore has 11 foreign university campuses and numerous joint degree programmes with prestigious international institutions, many of which have been lured with generous government loans many consider Singapore as the Boston of Asia (Clark, 2015). The quality of vocational and technical education in Singapore is among the best in the world and a role model for countries aspiring to become education hubs. One of the major challenges facing Singapore is the rising cost of living, thereby creating new opportunities for India. 3.1.1 MALAYSIA The Malaysian government’s decision in the mid-1990s, to ease regulations regarding the setting up of private higher education institutions in the country contributed significantly to the growing appeal of Malaysia as an education hub for foreign students, and by the year 2020, the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education targets to have at least 200, 000 international students in higher education institutions in the country. Malaysia has largely attracted international students through the establishment of branch campuses of British and Australian universities. In order to give competition to Singapore, Malaysia has located its 350 acre education campus called Educity, which is home to six international universities, close to the Singapore border. Also, a private initiative is the Kuala Lampur Education City (KLEC) which was launched by the government in 2007 as a 15 to 20 year project (Clark, 2015). 3.1.2 TAIWAN To target students from Mainland China and Southeast Asia in particular, Taiwan began its internationalization of university campuses in 2011. The Taiwanese governments “study in Taiwan” programme attracts international students by offering programmes in English scholarships for Chinese- language courses, relaxed work visa for pass-outs and engages staff for teaching the Chinese Language in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea, Mongolia, Indonesia, and India. Most of the foreign institutions offer degrees and professional programs in collaboration with local institutions. The government estimates to attract 160,000 foreign students from Chinese speaking countries by 2020. Taiwan has also become a popular destination for training academicians particularly from countries like India, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam (Clark, 2015). 3.1.3 HONG KONG Enjoying the benefits of being a gateway to Mainland China, Hong Kong enjoys the benefits to Mainland China, Hong Kong enjoys the benefits of an English speaking population and world-class institutions. Beginning its efforts in making Hong Kong an international hub in 2008, foreign students are allowed to stay after graduation to look for work. With a US $160 million funds, Hong Kong offers scholarships, Ph.D. fellowships, and encourages foreign universities to set up campuses in the territory. The major challenge Hong Kong faces is lack of student accommodation and the high cost of living. The Hong Kong University and Science and Technology (HKUST) and University of Hong Kong (HKU) ranked at 28th and 30th position according to the QS World University Ranking 2015/16 (Clark 2016). 3.1.4 CHINA China has progressed from having the highest number of students to being a major destination for international students. China offers comparatively cheaper options that allow international students to access world class education without having to empty their pockets. Nearly 25 Chinese Universities made it to the QS World Universities ranking with four institutions, Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, making it in the top 100 universities of the world in the QS World University ranking 2015/16. The rising economic and political importance of China has created an upsurge in understanding China. It aims at targeting 500,000 international students by 2020. China attracts international students keen to learn Chinese language and establishment of so-called split campus programmes in which the first part of the course takes place at a local Chinese university with subsequent study taking place at a foreign partner institution (Clark 2015). 3.1.5 INDIA The government has drawn up a scheme to invite over 200 academicians from global universities to teach in India starting November 2015 (“Smriti Irani’s HRD Ministry has come to agreement with global scholars to teach in India” 2015) Under the new scheme called Global Initiative for Academics 8 | Sunita Sharma Lingual (Vol. 10, No.1, 2018) Network (GIAN), the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has agreed with academics from various countries to teach more than 200 short term courses in Indian universities starting November, 2015. Harvard Business School academic Michael E Porter, addressed India’s top policy makers as a part of Niti Aayog’s Lecture series on ‘Transforming India’ on May 25, 2017. (The Economic Time, May 21, 2017). With these lectures, the Aayog aims to bring globally renowned policy- makers, academics, expert and administrators to India for benefit of states & centre universities. The Indian Government has selected 10 Indian higher education institutes which are among the top 500 institutes in global academic ranking, and is providing them with substantial finance, so as to leap forward into the top 100 on global academic rankings it aims to achieve. India has traditionally been seen as a country, that sends rather than receives international students, but a growing number of students from elsewhere are now choosing to study in India. Indeed, the 2015 open doors. India is gradually emerging as a preferred destination for foreign students, particularly from the South Asian region. More US students are choosing India as a place to gain credits – 4583, students from the US travelled to India to study at Indian institutions for part of their course in 2014-15 (India Spend, 2017). Table 6. Number of Foreign Students in India Year No. of Foreign Students 1999-2000 2010-2011 2011-2012 2013-2014 2014-2015 6,988 27,531 33,156 31,126 42,126 Source: All India Survey on Higher Education 2014-15. In 2014-15 the foreign students in India have increased by 11,000. Nepal contributed the highest percentage that is nearly 19 percent of the total foreign students, followed by, in descending order, Bhutan, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sudan and Iraq. India’s higher education as ranked 24th in the world in the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings 2016, as is especially well-known for the quality of its education in engineering and technology subject. A total of 23 top universities in India, feature in the QS University Ranking: Asia 2016, including nine in the top 100, University of Delhi (66th in QS University Ranking: Asia 2016), the University of Calcutta (108th), the University of Mumbai (145th) and Banaras Hindu University (155th). 3.2 SHARE OF THE GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL MARKET International students play an important role in the higher education sector of many countries like USA, UK, France, Australia, Germany, Russia, Canada, China, Singapore and Malaysia. They contribute significant income to the university and revenue to the local economies via expenditure on and off campus. The Institute of International Education estimates that by 2017, the middle class across the world is projected to increase spending on education by nearly 50% from $4.4 trillion in 2012 to $6.2 trillion. Thus the future growth in international students will come largely from developing and emerging economies (Ortiz, 2015). The economic impact of international students is not limited to the money spent by them on tuition fees, living expenses, travel and recreation alone. According to the Association of International Educate (NAFSA), three jobs are created in the US for every seven international students enrolled (Ortiz, 2015). According to studies, the world will be short of 56.5 million work force by 2020 (Mc Kinsey Global Institute, 2011). No wonder, global trade of higher educational services is growing. India has a number of strengths including cost advantage and a good number of English speaking professionals. India’s geographical location also makes it a viable and attractive destination for students, particularly from Asia and Africa. Higher education in India is very economical as compared to the rest of the world. Many students unable to afford higher education in the west, choose to study in India. According to a report published by HSBC in September 2014 (HSBC, 2014), India figures as the cheapest destination for an international student to attend a university with a mere expenditure of USD 5,642 p.a. Australia was ranked as the most expensive at USD 42,093. The study found that a student had to pay only USD 581 as university fee in India; whereas, living expenses in India were only USD 5,062, which is less than a fifth of the cost in Australia (‘India ranked cheapest for international students: Study’, 2014). 3.3 INTERNATIONALIZATION LEADS TO MULTICULTURALISM The Government Of India’s ‘Educate in India’ initiative is creating enormous economic opportunities. Internationalization of higher education leading to multiculturalism; which has socio- cultural and financial implications for the Indian economy, notably among them are: i. Foreign Exchange Outflows: Allowing reputed foreign universities to set-up campuses in India, is giving an alternative choice to Indian students wanting to study in universities abroad, to access the same universities at home at a fraction of the cost overseas and save India’s precious foreign exchange outflow. ii. Foreign Exchange Inflows: International students bring precious foreign exchange into the country, which is a national priority. iii. Attractive Economic Opportunity: International students play an important role in many countries like USA, UK, France, Australia, Germany, Russia, Canada, China, Singapore and Malaysia as they contribute significant income to the universities and revenue to the local economies via expenditure on and off campus. iv. Increased Business Revenue: International students are normally charged a higher fees and they increase the revenue of institutions, in a way, subsidizing fee of domestic students. v. Cultural Diversity & Globalization: Cultural diversity creates a more global environment, which benefits all stakeholders (Fig 2). Fig. 2. Internationalization of Higher Education Leads to Multiculturalism: Its impact on various Stakeholders Students Faculty Institutions Industry Government  access to foreign universities at home  access to desired universities at home, at a fraction of the cost overseas  increase in self- confidence  leadership and quantitative skills  students developed to be global citizens  promotion of inter cultural awareness, diversity and engagement among students  more exposure especially to electronic library  will be reading and teaching wider topics.  will get exposed to faculty with international experience, this will improve quality of education  will increase self confidence in teaching skills  be more motivated to teach innovatively  the student evaluation will be taken seriously and will work on it  will become more performance oriented  have to become competitive to survive  will have to bring structural changes in the management of the institutions  will have more public private partnerships to ensure major quantity and quality upgrade  there will be demand for autonomy and increase in the number of autonomous institutions  will provide better infrastructure and other facilities (e.g. sports) to students  Higher fees from students will increase the revenue of the institution  availability of quality employees locally  globally knowledgeable employees at cost effective rates  precious foreign exchange into the country will increase revenue  strengthening diplomatic and geo-political ties with other countries.  Indian students going abroad will now study in India saves precious foreign exchange outflow vi. Country Ties: International students strengthen diplomatic and geo-political ties with other countries. vii. Quality Improvement: Competition from reputed foreign universities, improves the quality of higher education institutions in India and thus makes our higher education sector more globally competitive. When the students actively engage with their international classmates, it enhances their self confidence, leadership and quantitative skills. viii. Economics Impact: According to a report released in October 2015 (‘Indian students 3rd in generating London’s revenue” 2015). London had welcomed over 106,000 international students and created 37,000 jobs, according to the report by London & Partners. Chinese students contributed the highest by spending £407 million. The US was second at a spending of £217 million. Indian students, the third highest in London, spent £130 million, which alone amounted to creating and supporting 1,643 jobs. London pitched itself as the biggest education hub of the world. 10 | Sunita Sharma Lingual (Vol. 10, No.1, 2018) IV CONCLUSION The higher education system in India has shown a massive increase in the number of institutions both colleges and universities after independence leading to increase in a number of students enrolled in the higher education institutions. This is evident from the GER which was less than one percent in 1950- 51 and at present it is above twenty percent. One distinguishing feature of this expansion in higher education is the rise of the private sector. The private sector is contributing towards improving accessibility to higher education by increasing the number of seats in various courses & introducing new courses. India has traditionally been seen as a country, that sends rather than receives international students, but 2015 open doors and, now students from other countries are choosing to study in India. 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