The Hindu : City attracts foreign students

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

City attracts foreign students

By Nagesh Prabhu

BANGALORE Sept. 18. At a time when parents send their children abroad to pursue higher education, Bangalore is attracting a large number of foreign students.

After New Delhi and Pune, Bangalore has the highest number of foreign students — 1,786 — studying graduate and postgraduate courses in colleges affiliated to Bangalore University this academic year. Fifty-eight students were admitted to postgraduate courses in the university, its Vice-Chancellor, M.S. Thimmappa, told The Hindu.

Several factors are responsible for the rise in the number of foreign students coming to the city. Meritorious students get admission to graduate and postgraduate courses under different scholarships. Every year scholarships are offered to international students according to the terms and conditions of the cultural exchange programme signed between India and other countries for studying, training and research in various fields.

India has cultural exchange programmes with nearly 70 Asian, African, and Latin American countries in the field of higher education. Scholarships are awarded many schemes, according to officials at the ICCR office here.

A large number of foreign students are self-financed while some get scholarship. The number of scholarship students coming to the city increased from 40 in 1998 to 150 in 2001. As many as 135 students were admitted to graduate and postgraduate courses in 2003 under scholarship. As many as 80,180 foreign students came to Bangalore between 1999 and 2002.

A majority of the foreign students come here to study MBA, MCA and biotechnology courses. The Government gives a monthly scholarship of Rs. 5,500 for students studying graduate and postgraduate courses (including Rs. 2,500 rent) and Rs. 6,500 for Ph.D scholars. The annual contingency grant is Rs. 3,000, Rs. 4,500, and Rs. 7,000 for graduate, postgraduate and Ph.D, students, respectively. The ICCR pays tuition fees charged by the universities and colleges. The letters of scholarship are sent to the respective governments through Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

Earlier, only students from SAARC countries came to India. With the increase in number of scholarships, now students from Fiji, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Sweden, Morocco and Thailand have joined courses here.

The ICCR officials say that foreign students prefer Bangalore as the colleges here offer good education in computer science and biotechnology. "In Bangalore, students are able to complete a three-year course on time," a foreign student said.

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