Indian universities are aiming to attract more students from Africa with the promise of affordable fees and educational standards comparable to those in Europe and the US, representatives attending the Indian Education Expo 2018 have said.
It is the second time the Expo has been held at the Association of African Universities in the Ghanaian capital Accra, and was attended by over 100 Indian universities.
“Indian universities provide much more for the African students in addition to the fact that the fees are affordable”
Students were introduced to over 200 courses, accommodation options and scholarship opportunities that are available to those who wish to study in India.
Nitesh Mahajan, assistant director of international admissions at Lovely Professional University in Punjab said African students enjoy the freedom that they expect in any institution outside their country.
He said that Indian higher institutions face a stringent quality assurance mechanism from the statutory bodies including the University Grant Commission and the National Board of Accreditation as well as the various professional councils.
“Indian universities provide much more for the African students in addition to the fact that the fees are affordable,” Mahajan added.
Organisers of the expo said the studies in India has a personal approach through the ‘Gurukul’ system, where a teacher interacts on a one-on-one basis with students in order to help them find solutions to difficulties.
“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.”
The organisers added that approximately 1.4 million students are enrolled in Indian secondary and higher secondary education through open and distance learning.
“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,” they said.
