The great academic drain

 It is not a coincidence that best universities exist in societies that are freer

Alok Tiwari

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his latest Mann ki Baat highlighted the loss suffered by the country by some families holding weddings abroad. While destination weddings within the country are getting popular even among middle class, weddings abroad are not so common. It is still a trend only among the very rich. I do not know how much that means in terms of foreign exchange loss. But there is another phenomenon that I hope the prime minister takes note of. It is the trend of Indian students going abroad to study.

Among my friends, I am not aware of a single wedding that was held abroad. However, in my immediate neighbourhood, a firmly middleclass locality, there are about 10% households (including, I must confess, my own) having their children studying and/or working abroad. A quick online search revealed mind numbing figures. Over a million Indian students go abroad for studies. This costs the country a staggering $80 billion annually. This is almost as much as total inward foreign remittances by Indians abroad and nearly half of our oil import tab, the biggest import on our list. In rupee terms it is more than Rs 6.64 lakh crore. For many top universities across the globe, Indian students are top revenue source, often helping them subsidize local students.

Just imagine if this money were to stay in India. The phenomenon is causing not just a financial loss. Many if not most of the students who go abroad also end up working abroad too. So, it is also a huge loss of talent too. They are among the best and brightest and hard-working students of our country. Our country remains deprived of their contribution in many fields. If we could retain a million outstanding students in the country every year, how much more will be economic growth and innovation?

I am not even considering the social costs of the trend. Though having a child study and work abroad is still a sort of status symbol among many, the human costs become apparent as the years go by. The families remain separated by thousands of kilometres, and it is not always possible for them to get together even in emergencies, specially during emergencies. The aged parents often end up staying away from home for months together to be with their children in climate and society they feel inhospitable. This is enjoyable initially but becomes a drag with advancing age. Everyone remains bereft of companionship and comfort that having loved ones nearby provides.

At the root of this is an utterly dysfunctional education system. Students go abroad because of perception, and a correct one, that most institutions of higher learning in India are not up to the mark. While the top ones may ensure a job, even they are not known for cutting edge research and academic pursuit. The less said about our universities the better. Not only are they grossly underfunded but also lack the freedom necessary to attain excellence in education. Most of our focus has been on job-oriented technical education with other streams like humanities virtually going to the dogs. Neglecting them has resulted in severe depletion of society’s wisdom capital.

Yes, governments are responsible. They are guilty of not providing money and academic freedom to universities. But they are not the lone culprits. The academics in the country have not exactly covered themselves in glory. State universities have ended up being dens of entrenched lobbies with little pressure to produce results and no accountability at all. It begins from appointment of teachers and goes all the way to conduct of examinations. Neither is excellence rewarded, nor mediocrity punished. Worldwide, universities are at the forefront of research and creating new knowledge. Whereas in an average Indian university in a tier 2 or 3 city, students are lucky if their syllabus is updated every couple of years.

Private universities have mushroomed, but they too are mostly in the business of making money more than knowledge, often charging astronomical sums for courses of dubious merit. Also, they too are focused entirely on ‘placing’ a student. While equipping a student for job market is an important function of education it cannot be its sole purpose. Totally missing from even these universities is serious pursuit of knowledge that would enrich the humanity. The fact that in all these decades Indian academia has not produced even a single Nobel laureate is telling.

Pouring money and instituting transparent, accountable management may help correct only some of the conditions. What really helps development of higher education is an atmosphere of freedom. It is here that things are not just bad but are rapidly getting worse. Academic world thrives on challenging the traditions. To push boundaries of knowledge, academics need to challenge established ideas be it in science, sociology, or history. In India, try saying one negative word about any of the revered leaders, gods, community, or a practice. There is instant and violent backlash, and the state will offer no protection. On the contrary, you may face criminal prosecution. It’s tough to have a world class university in a country where theatres are burnt over portrayal of imaginary characters and two-bit trolls have more freedom than serious academics.

It is not a coincidence that best universities exist in societies that are freer. Researchers need to go where their pursuit takes them without intimadtion. Universities must be nurseries of new ideas, the more iconoclastic the better. They will often have people saying things many of us do not like, much less approve. We need to be able to face the ideas that are heretical, challenge what we respect and even hold sacred. Regimented societies can attain technical brilliance and operational efficiency, but they are often found wanting when it comes to creativity. Academic excellence cannot exist in vacuum, it needs an ecosystem. Let’s create it.

This column was published in Lokmat Times on Nov 29, 2023