India wants to attract African students with low fees and quality teaching
India is attracting Indian students to its universities. Source: shutterstock.com

Indian universities are ramping up efforts to recruit more African students, luring them with the promise of lower university fees and education standards comparable to that of institutions in Europe and the US.

International students can expect to pay as little as INR194,400 (US$3,000) to INR388,800 (US$6,000) for a year of tuition in India, whereas studying in the UK will set students back at least GB£10,000 (US$14,130), and US fees can total up to US$60,000.

These affordable fees don’t come at the cost of quality education either.

Nitesh Mahajan, assistant director of international admissions at Lovely Professional University in Punjab, explained Indian universities are subject to comprehensive quality checks from statutory bodies including the University Grant Commission and the National Board of Accreditation and professional councils.

“Indian universities provide much more for the African students in addition to the fact that the fees are affordable,” said Nitesh at the Indian Education Expo 2018, according to The Pie News.

Representatives at the expo exhibited India’s growing higher education sector to prospective students and discussed scholarship opportunities with students.

“In addition, India has a large number of international students coming from all parts of the world to pursue their desired careers in Indian institutions,” organisers said.

“India also [makes] the efforts to help foreign nationals feel at home and help them to integrate with the rest of the students’ community.”

India now has one of the largest higher education systems in the world, third to China and the US, according to Times Higher Education. Technology universities are particularly respected in India, and the fact that all courses are taught in English make them all the more attractive to international students.

African students will need to apply for the five-year student visa in India that allows international citizens to live in the country throughout their studies. There are also good post-graduation prospects as India joins the technological race alongside China and the US.

Distance learning was also highlighted at the expo: “At the higher education level, Indira Gandhi National Open University co-ordinates distance learning and has a cumulative enrolment of about 1.5 million, serviced through 53 regional centres and 1.400 study centres with 25,000 councils,” said the organizers.

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