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Foreign students on PMO radar

With India fast becoming an educational hub for international students,the Centre is pushing for changes in the system to suit their needs.

With India fast becoming an educational hub for students in the neighbourhood and from across the Middle East and Africa,the Centre is pushing for changes in the system to suit their needs. And in the thick of action is the Prime Minister’s Office.

Buoyed with the response,it has now been suggested that a screening test of applicants should be held to ensure foreign students are able to cope up with the pressures of the Indian education system.

In a recent meeting presided over by the Principal Secretary to the PM,it was observed that the academic standard of a majority of foreign students was not up to the mark and that some kind of screening test might be needed to help ascertain their competency level.

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This,it was argued,would help to ensure students opting

for courses in India were able to cope up with the academic formats here.

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It was also pointed out that a generally ‘low proficiency in English language’ in foreign students was leading to below-par performance in examinations.

While several universities already hold special English proficiency classes for foreign students,these facilities need to be strengthened,the meeting felt. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has expressed its readiness to bear the expenditure the universities may incur in the process.

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A committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary,Ministry of External Affairs,would now be constituted to look into various issues related to the welfare of foreign students,it was decided at the meeting attended by the DG ICCR,Home Secretary,officials from the HRD Ministry and a number of Vice Chancellors.

The PMO asked the HRD Ministry and Vice Chancellors of all universities to ensure a series of measures were taken towards the welfare of foreign students in India.

Suggestions were made on conducting online entrance examinations for PhD courses,additional funds to build hostel infrastructure for both foreign and Indian students,consideration of a mandatory health insurance for self-financing foreign students,etc. The academic issue apart,the PMO also noted that student visa extensions were also proving to be a problem for several foreign students as this often required them to go back and apply to the Indian missions in their respective countries for an extension.

That apart,the need for a mechanism for keeping track of foreign students in India for their well-being was also underlined. A standardised system for verification of documents,the need for credit transfers,problems relating to the use of Hindi/regional languages in some varsities among others were discussed.

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While the HRD Ministry is already in the process of effecting a credit transfer system across all Central Universities,modalities would have to be worked out to enable a similar mechanism for state universities as well,it was decided at the meeting.

First uploaded on: 21-03-2011 at 00:02 IST
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