A new disease: VP Jagdeep Dhankhar on Indian students eying foreign education

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday compared the lure of foreign education among Indian students to a disease and cautioned parents against its impact on the future of children as well as the country’s economy.

“There is a new disease these days—the disease of going abroad. Children want to go to foreign countries to study. Parents lack counselling but children are keen to go. They weave dreams of a heavenly land. There is no objective evaluation of which institution they are enrolling in, which country they are going to, it is just a mindless pursuit of foreign shores,” the vice president said, addressing an event organised by a group of educational institutions in Rajsthan’s Sikar.

Dhankhar added these students who go abroad “created a hole of USD 6 billion in India’s foreign exchange”.

“You will be surprised how 18-25-year-olds, under the influence of advertisements, are going abroad. As many as 13,50,000 Indian students went abroad to study in 2024. What will happen to their future? That is being reviewed. People are also understanding.

They have created a hole of 6 billion USD in our foreign exchange,” the vice president said.

He added had this money been funnelled into improvement of educational infrastructure at home, much could have improved.

The vice president called this forex loss forex drain and brain drain.

“This”, he said, “should not happen”.

The VP urged educational institutions across the country to apprise students of the situation abroad and of the ranking of foreign institutions being coveted.

“Those who can should set up institutions in tier two and three cities, and rural areas. This will transform Indian education,” Dhankhar added, urging parents to reconsider sending children abroad in mindless pursuit of a foreign dream.