Indian students dejected by high cut-off marks and few specialised options turn to colleges abroad.
Fresh out of high school with top grades, Rishabh Porel wanted to study molecular biology for his graduation. But the lack of top colleges in the field in India has meant he had to turn to foreign shores.
"When I went through the list of top 10 institutes for microbiology in the world, I couldn't see an Indian name in it," said Rishabh told NDTV. So he applied to the University of Toronto in Canada, the 18-year-old said.
Like Rishabh, 18-year-old Nida Kamal from Bhavan's Junior College, Mumbai is currently ranked 14 in India's under-18 Tennis and has decided to pursue a major in Sports Psychology on full scholarship from Winthrop University in South Carolina, USA.
"I wish to continue with my Tennis with my studies for which you have to move abroad as there is not much scope for Tennis in India," Nida said.
Lakhs of Indian students, discouraged by the outlandish admission criteria or "cut-off marks" and lack of top-ranked specialised colleges among other reasons, are forced to turn to other countries, studies say.
According to a 2012 report by UNESCO and the Indian Government, nearly 2 lakh Indian students went abroad for higher education.
Around half of them went to the United States, while 16 per cent headed to the United Kingdom. The remaining left for Australia, Canada, UAE and New Zealand. According to industry experts, that number may have increased over the years.
"Our education is lagging behind but the major problem is with the lack of infrastructure and facilities," said Madhavi Pethe, Principal of Dahanukar College in Mumbai.
Kamlesh Sajnani, Managing Director of IMS Training Centre which coaches students for international standardised tests said, "One of the main concerns of Indian parents is lack of seats in the so-called quality institutes. A child with 90 per cent, 85 per cent or even a 75 per cent (grade) will not find a place in one of the top colleges of India today, unfortunately. The acceptance rate of students in IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) is 0.1 per cent of the total number of applicants."