HEIs: A moment of reckoning

Since we are approaching Teachers’ Day, this writer would like to make a small appeal to our Central government and state governments (since education is a State subject). Mr Mayhem, US President Donald Trump, is hating on his pet peeves, the US liberal intellectual class and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), almost each fortnight. He’s wrecking the intake of talent (and monies) that US HEIs are globally known for. Large sections of students at these institutions are international.

The era which India and other countries identified with ‘brain drain’ looks somewhat set to end. Spiralling admission costs, plummeting financial aid, cratering returns on investments in terms of employability, restrictive visa regimes and post-education work opportunities are some of the factors militating against students going abroad in the current international climate. Atop this sits Trump. America may account for an extreme current instance, but more or less the same climate prevails in other HEI destinations like Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. So, what can countries like India do about this?

If only India had China-like dogged vision and intent, this situation would be a windfall to turbocharge Indian HEIs, both private and public. Yes, to some degree, the National Education Policy of 2020 tilts our imperatives in that direction, but Trump has created a situation that calls for immediate, yet considered actions from the Centre and states. At the moment, India is sitting on a not insignificant pool of talent across higher education fields that would typically aim to fly away. India also has not insignificant numbers of internationally trained returnees, mostly scholars, researchers, teachers, idea generators, and academics with undergraduate educational bearings in India. So, there’s a burgeoning set of young people who want to learn more and another slightly older set that could possibly benefit higher education, either in terms of research, or teaching, or both.

It is displeasing to either wait to burnish your talent or return to a home environment having honed talent elsewhere and not find the apposite nest for its expression and enhancement. Our respective governments must act soon to tap into a restive student/young scholar demographic that increases by the day, and present a workable roadmap. India is well behind the higher educational curve vis-a-vis its much more strategically thoughtful neighbours. Fleet-footed China is earning international accolades as high-profile international scholars partially live and work there. Southeast Asian nations such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam have made strong strides to attract and retain international talent, and usher in pools of its youth into higher and/or primary education careers. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries established swathes of urban areas for western university campuses to get set in locations like Doha and Dubai.

Lest you mistake me, I don’t want to preach the mantra of internationalisation for its own sake. What they signal is concerted intent to make education more attractive, and help strengthen and nurture strong, good, practices and temperaments for the long-term future of these countries. Well before their attempts to internationalise education, even a rudimentary scrutiny over budgetary spends on education in these countries over the last 30 years displays a marked intent to bolster it and lay a solid foundation for the future of its respective youth. Chinese companies such as DeepSeek have jolted information technology and Artificial Intelligence spheres. When they shook early this year, Indian captains of industry again rued why Indian companies and institutions were unable to generate such ideas. In my view, that moment was also a triumph for Chinese HEI investment. Now, Trump is closing the door. While solidifying its foundations, India must open its own for others, but carefully, thoughtfully, and quickly.