The West was always the default higher-educational destination for aspirational Indian scholars, ever since the days of Gandhi and Nehru. But only in recent years did we start looking northwards and eastwards, in the Asian yard for taleem. And a rich and diverse landscape it has proved to be. More and more Indian students are opting for the variety of courses being offered in the Asia Pacific which comprises of China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, the lattermost country, of course, has held an impressive higher-education portfolio among Indians for long.
As in everything else, China is determined to leave a formidable footprint in education. It now spends almost four per cent of its massive GDP on education. Several of its universities are highly ranked, and a lot of the degrees are taught in English. Despite this, after finishing a degree, it is nearly impossible to get a job unless you are competent in Mandarin and written Chinese. Universities like CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) are well regarded for business education.
