We Can Reverse Brain Drain Through Reforms In Higher Education

The renowned Economist magazine published a provocative piece on India’s higher education in its June 6, 2025, issue. India has 20% of the world’s university-age population, and yet none of our universities are ranked in the top hundred in the world. Some of the brightest products of our elite educational institutions are migrating abroad, and top students are pursuing higher education in the OECD countries. Over 330,000 Indian students are enrolled in US universities, and they are spending an estimated $15-25 billion annually. Despite the enormous competition for securing admission in STEM courses and in reputed institutions, there is a broad consensus that our universities are not successful in harnessing our potential.

One of the common concerns in India is about brain drain. Ordinarily, when 40 million students are enrolled in universities, the migration of a million persons abroad should not matter; in fact, exposure to the best science and technology in the world helps our country. But most university students acquire very little real education and skills; only about 10-15% of our graduates are comparable to their counterparts in developed countries. When only about one to two million graduates meet global standards, the migration of half of them hurts the country.

But the answer does not lie in restricting migration or penalising those who seek opportunities abroad. It is said that brain drain is better than brain in the drain! We need to create opportunities for the brightest to flourish in India. Economic growth and promotion of entrepreneurship will make India more attractive to our talented youth. The solution lies in improving the quality of higher education and ensuring all university graduates acquire the knowledge and skills required to add real value to the economy and society. A growing economy needs talented and skilled technocrats, managers, innovators and entrepreneurs.

If you go by mere members, our higher education seems impressive. We have 1153 universities (355 in 2005) and 48291 colleges (18064 in 2005), enrolling over 42m students (11m in 2005), of whom 9.8m are in STEM courses.  Gross enrollment has reached 28.4% (19.4% in 2010). Governments (union + states) spend 1.7% of the GDP on higher education (US: 1%, China: 0.8%).

But all these impressive numbers conceal a deep crisis in higher education. Most education is based on rote learning, examinations are perfunctory, grades are inflated and there is a vast gulf between the curriculum taught and the needs of the market and society. World over, higher education makes young people more productive and employable. In India, there is an inverse relationship between ‘education’ and employability. Unemployment increases with education! The illiterates and those with only a few years of schooling are all employed; those with post-graduate degrees and doctorates are the least employed!

Two decades ago, when a group of us travelled in China, many Chinese officials and academics lamented what they perceived to be weak higher education in China and expressed admiration for Indian higher education. They were obviously impressed with the brand image of IITs and IIMs in India. Now, twenty years later, China is almost on par with the US in higher education, research and innovation. The numbers have not increased much in China. Only about 11 million students are enrolled in higher education, and 3.9 million are in STEM streams. The government spends only 0.8% of the GDP on higher education. And yet, China boasts of 13 universities among the top 100 in the world. It registers more patents than any country, and Chinese research papers are the most cited in the world. In construction, transport, metallurgy, electric vehicles, solar power, storage batteries and many other emerging technologies, China now leads the world.

Determination, flexibility, innovation, institutional autonomy and hiring the best talent in the world reshaped Chinese higher education in two decades. President Trump’s policies and decisions have led to anxiety and uncertainty among foreign students in the US. China is converting that into an opportunity. Our decrepit university systems, archaic procedures, rigidities and overregulation led to effete universities that cannot rise to the challenge of meeting the needs of the country. About 25 years ago, during my visit to Cambridge, Massachusetts, several MIT faculty members of Indian origin met me. They offered to teach world-class technology courses in Indian universities if an opportunity was given. As successful educators, they wanted to give back something to their home country. But our obtuse higher education institutions were reluctant to seize the opportunity, citing archaic rules and regulations!

Yawning Income-Wealth Disparity Causing Heartburn And Brain Drain

Now we have a full-blown crisis in education. The collapse of school education meant that the foundations of higher education are weak. Substandard higher education is producing graduates, most of whom are not equipped to add value. Many of them end up as schoolteachers, compounding the crisis in school education! We need to break this vicious cycle.

There is no room for despair or cynicism. Our families are sacrificing a great deal to give their children a head start. The youth are ambitious, intelligent and hard-working. Our society values learning and scholarship. The government, for all its faults, is spending a lot on education. If we allow autonomy and true competition, promote true flexibility and innovation, encourage and embrace talent, make the assessments sensible and effective, focus on meaningful research, and expose our students to the real challenges of the market and society and make them problem solvers, we can transform higher education. There is no time to lose. India’s prosperity and our democracy depend on the quality of education.

The author is the founder of Lok Satta movement and Foundation for Democratic Reforms. Email: drjploksatta@gmail.com / Twitter@jp_loksatta