IT IS a fact that the ultimate aim of most Indian students is to go abroad for higher studies. I have never understood this craze. It is probably due to a variety of reasons. This craze starts right from the beginning when they first start thinking about higher studies and a career.
Most parents I know would love to see their children studying abroad and finally settling there. They do not realise that this is a one-way street and that their child could well be lost forever. There are many complications to the motivation of parents who want to send their children abroad. India is unfortunate in the sense that a majority of our educated citizens feel that there is no future in our country. Thus they psyche their children into believing that the best thing they can do is to go to the United States of America, United Kingdom, Singapore, etc. Children are quite malleable in their younger years, and they readily accept this outlook. Thus, this craze for going abroad gets ingrained in their thinking.
It is surprising that many teachers and tutors also put a high premium on their students going abroad. Teachers make statements like: "The good students usually go to foreign universities for further studies" or "You are such a good student, you must sit for the SAT or other similar examinations and go abroad to finish your studies". Children generally accept what their teachers say and thus take such statements at face value.
In general, Indian society gives high regard to a person who has studied or is working abroad. The tags 'NRI', 'foreign returned', 'green card holder' etc, are held in high esteem in our country. Even in the marriage market these tags are valuable!
With this sort of mentality, it is not surprising that our children dream of going abroad for higher studies, jobs, etc, little realising the pitfalls that they have to face.
There are no statistics available on the success rate of students going abroad