There used to be a time when flying was confined only to the rich and the affluent. Travel by Airplanes were only for the top rich and a few! The middle class felt satisfied seeing the landings and taking off of flights from outside the airport boundary walls. The deep sigh within and the buried feelings of affording luxuries appeared like a Mirage in the Dessert! I include myself in this context, having lived my childhood in delhi and often visiting Safdarjung Aerodrome to watch domestic and international flights taking off and land which entertained my brain and heart without any cost!! It would not be out of place to mention that our parents were so conservative that they would not allow us to go for jobs which involved night-shifts! I had to forgo a traff - assistant's job with Pan-Am airways as the job involved only night duties. There was a necessity of having a motor-cycle to commute and the route was considered dangerous for travel between Karol Bagh and Palam via Buddha jayanti park!! All these factors were enough for my mother to disapprove this job!! I took up the next in line Banking job which was well approved by one and all saying " I have struck a gold mine"! Honestly, we had no guts to defy or go against the wishes of our parents.
In order to fulfill the cherished but missed ambitions, We encouraged and allowed our children to pursue courses abroad without even willing to know about their interests and decided the courses that they have to study! Some children could successfully completed their studies and some could not as their interests were not in tune to the parental thinking? This theme is well narrated in the recent film 3 idiots and which is very true in most cases.
The statement issued by our foriegn minister Mr S M Krishna and carried by all newspapers is quite relevant and true. He is intrigued by the fact that many young students have gone to Australia to get trained in courses like Hair styling, Facial course etc.. This is absolutely ridiculous as these do not warrant any special training abroad. These students can get trained for these courses in India itself which will be ideal to suit Indian conditions! The parents are foolish to spend money on such courses for their wards and to send them to an alien country expecting that they would eventually settle abroad and get a permanent resident status which will entitle them to migrate and get settled! This is shortsighted thinking on the parents. I have seen students originating from Punjab, U P and other states who can not even speak a sentence of English, desperately trying to find a job to augument their living expenses abroad. Money flow is stopped from their Homes and there is a pressure to earn and support their studies and living and this drives the young Indians to take up all kinds of odd jobs much against the Australian visa rules. Mind you, it is quite impossible to find a student job or a part-time job in a country like Australia which is mainly dependent on the educational earnings from students specially from India and which constitutes 20% of their foreign exchange earnings!! Even the professors who teach in the Universities are mostly Indians and Chinese! The number of Australian Professors can be hand counted! This goes to prove that Australia is clever in engaging our own Indians to teach our own Children abroad for which We are giving them a hefty fees besides all mental tortures and tensions! Finally, the students have no time to study and invariably fail in their academics and eventually kicked out of the country. Its time the Indian Government sets up a Monitoring cell which will be a pre-condition for all student visa-seekers who wish to go abroad so that filters can be applied and prevent Indians from crowding a state in a foreign country leading to unhappy incidents that are occurring currently. The cell would also do well in directing the students to do courses within India without the need for going abroad. There will also be a considerable savings in foreign exchange outflow.
One question which comes to my mind is "What is the cause of this Educational- emigration"?
If only the government can curb and control Capitation fees that are gobbled by the institutions within our state and increase the number of Educational Institutions that could par with the best in the country and bring out a legislation that Education is for all, we can successfully encounter these kinds of problems and find a remedy as well. The foreign minister will do well talking to the Education Minister and both taking this problem Head-on!
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