Going to America… as students

It is not as if governments have nothing to do. But once in a while, hell breaks loose and for all the reasons one could not have imagined. Take the case of Indian students at two Universities in the US — in California and Virginia — whose futures are at stake for presumably no fault of theirs.

The Universities had flouted American immigration laws by admitting more international students than they were permitted!

And the media in India goes bonkers even to the extent of suggesting that Indian students from a particular state may have been targeted.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi gets into the act and the American Embassy in New Delhi issues a statement cautioning Indian students wanting to go to the US for studies. And, after two days of being in the headlines, the story line tapers off and not surprisingly so. After all, life has to move on and there are administrative and judicial remedies available.

Statistics show that Indian students make up for about 15 per cent of the foreign student population in the US, second only to China that accounts for about 19 per cent. An Indian student is a welcome addition in the American educational system not because he or she is a money bag, but for the potential they bring along. Many of the Indian students in the American system at the graduate-school level (Masters and beyond) have some fellowship of sorts, subsidised by the American taxpayer.

Natural targets

At the same time, many students from India — thanks to the climbing social mobility and the readiness of banks to lend money for educational purposes — are also entering undergraduate programmes. And they are natural targets for Universities in the US that are seeking higher enrolment, especially from the fees paying community.

The foreign student population in the US is not only a brain asset for America but also a multi-billion dollar industry in terms of revenues generated by way of fees and other associated costs of education.

But there are inherent dangers in this process that require a concerted effort on the part of parents and students of India and from the governments in New Delhi and Washington. In the scramble to go “abroad” for a higher education and presumably for a ‘better' way of life, the right questions are not being asked at the source even if the answers may be readily available.

For example, a student/parent in India may not be aware of the legal limitations imposed by the USCIS (United States Customs and Immigration Services) on a University's student visa intake. But that should not stop them from asking the American diplomatic outposts in India or even South Block on the “standing” of an educational institution, in the state and in the country. Information is there but only for the asking.

First red flag

In the name of globalisation and freeing up of funds for overseas study, one would have to be worried about the fly-by-night educational consultants and representatives of overseas universities who would even seem to guarantee everything including a visa! And here is the first red flag — when a so-called consultant promises easy passage by way of a student visa to the US (or for that matter any other country). Many or most of the educational consultants are genuine but once in a while there is a harrowing tale.

Most importantly, there should be a mechanism to keep track of the so-called overseas educational fairs to ensure that only genuine academic institutions from overseas are allowed to flaunt their wares.

There is the right to go abroad for a higher education and a different way of life but one should also have the right not to be ripped off by unscrupulous institutions and their agents/representatives.

Immigration ‘tagging'

And there is a cautionary word for the media as well — not to project as if only students from India are at the receiving end. Indian students are naturally featured in the Indian media, but the same fate is also in store for students from other countries.

The immigration “tagging” of Indian students in California may be offensive and humiliating, but this does not imply that only Indian students are singled out for this treatment. The same goes for highlighting violence against Indian students overseas — it is not as if some red neck (a racist) is out looking for only an Indian.

Or for that matter, if some six or seven Indian students from the same State in India have been attacked in six or seven cities in the US it does not mean that the particular Indian state has been somehow targeted.

The world has its share of losers just as we have in India. No one has exclusive rights in this domain!

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