HIGHER AND HIGHER....

Here's the latest score on India and the US in higher education: Indian students in USA -94 thousand plus plus; American students in India - less than 3000. Guess which country can ill afford to send its youngsters out, yet wants to maintain its tight control on higher education, and includes education loans under priority sector.
I would not say that we are still sending out our best and brightest, because many of these students may not have got admission in decent Indian colleges, given that 'decent Indian colleges' is a contradictory statement. But even sending out the next tier, maybe mostly on scholarships, is costing us a lot of money. If the average cost is USD 40000 per student, how many zeros is that? And then there are the thousands of others who assiduously apply for US colleges - spending money on SAT and GRE/GMAT exams, application fees, coaching, consultants and touts - without finally making it. And there are the thousands who go to UK, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, and even Malaysia. A back of the envelope calculation easily places annual expenditure on foreign education at $6 billion.
To its credit, the Gorement has examined the effects of liberalising higher education for FHEP (Foreign Higher Education Providers). The concerned report happily said it would be a good thing for India. Kamal Nath enthusiastically announced FDI in higher education three years ago. That was the last that was heard of it. From being a reputed and attractive destination for overseas students (at one time, 50000 students from Malaysia were studying in India), India has become a major buyer of higher education services from other countries.
Gorement has made a major push for expanding centers of excellence in India. Proposed are many new IITs and IIMs, science universities, central universities, et al. The heavy control of UGC will loom large over them, admissions will be limited by reservations, quality will continue to remain suspect. In the meantime, private colleges of relatives of politicians will continue to be set up without much regulation, affiliated to some state university nobody ever heard of. On the other hand, ISB Hyderabad with no affiliation is a highly reputed institution because of its strong backing.
So how can the higher education conundrum be resolved? More competition is needed in the sector. Easier entry, better regulation, and marketable skills. Most of all, FDI from reputed sources must be allowed in the area. In these days of internet connectivity, it is really impossibly foolish to imagine that by not allowing 'subversive' foreign universities, we are protecting our culture and morals. And the money we could make from getting overseas students to Indian colleges! Alas, like all other areas, nobody wants to ease the rent-seeking that comes from imperfectly functioning higher education.