IND-SAT to be conducted by NTA in 13 countries in May 2020
Study in India (SII) initiative introduced to encourage students from neighbouring countries is spreading its wings by introducing IND-SAT aptitude test, to award scholarships to meritorious students from African and Asian countries.
The first edition of the exam will be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in May 2020 across 13 countries. These countries include India, Nepal, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and Mauritius.
“In the first phase, we are conducting the exam in 13 of the 40 target countries keeping in view logistical and socio-political limitations. We plan to extend the exams in remaining countries in future,” says Manoj Kumar, newly appointed chairman and managing director, Educational Consultants India Limited (EdCIL). In 2018, MHRD had introduced ‘Study in India’ initiative, for which EdCIL has been introducing programmes to attract international students.
Students will be assessed on English language skills, Math and logical reasoning. NTA will soon release the sample papers for the exam.”While the sanctioned number of scholarships is 2000, we plan an additional 700 grants that are remaining from last year’s fund allocation. Around 80% of the scholarships will be granted to undergraduate students and the remaining 20% is for postgraduate students,” says Kumar.
In 2019, as many as 3200 students were enrolled in various institutes through SII, out of which a total of around 1800 were awarded scholarships.
The admission registration at SII portal for academic year 2020-2021 has begun and Kumar estimates that around 7200 students will be appearing for the IND-SAT exam this year.
All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2018-19 data reveals that there are more than 47,000 international students (accounting for 1% of global international student mobility) studying in Indian higher educational institutions, making India rank at the 26th position among the top destinations for international student mobility globally.
India is receiving international students from 164 countries across continents. Maximum inflow consisting of 63.7% of the total international students are from the neighbouring countries. The highest share comes from Nepal (26.88%), followed by Afghanistan (9.8%), Bangladesh (4.38%) and Bhutan (3.82%). Students from Africa visit India with Nigeria contributing 3.4% and Sudan 4.02%.
By 2022, India plans to increase the inflow of international students four times, by taking the existing number to 2,00,000.
News Source : Times of India