Kid got just about 65% in class 12th CBSE? Don’t lose heart. There are foreign universities that enrol even dumb kids for undergraduate programs without any test. All you need is about Rs. 1.5 crore to ‘buy’ a degree. BIG éxpose’ of the farce!
Time when Indians went Abroad for PhDs
Once upon a time, and that was not too long ago, bright Indian students used to go abroad (mainly to USA, Canada and UK) to famous and reputed universities for what was fondly known as ‘higher studies’. That was a euphemism for pursuing PhDs, mainly in STEM. Admission to such universities was based upon their scores in GRE (Graduate Record Examination—Aptitude, and Advanced in the subject concerned). Interestingly, most of such students used to go on what was known as Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) or Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) and they were not obliged to break their parents’ bank. In GTA, the PhD student is employed to assist faculty with teaching responsibilities. They hold tutorials, lead discussion sections, check answer sheets, grade assignments, and provide feedback to undergraduate students. A GRA is a part-time, paid position for PhD students in which they assist professors with their research projects. These involve tasks like data collection, analysis, grant writing, and general research support.
The students who went abroad this way had only to pay for their airfare to reach the universities. After that, the GTA or GRA took care of their complete expenses of living and tuition. In fact, visas were granted only when the universities gave a certificate to the effect that the GTA or GRA is adequate to cover all his expenses. It was only for those less-than-bright students who took admissions in such less-than-famous universities that the GTA/GRA were not sufficient that they had to furnish a bank guarantee that they would have sufficient foreign currency available to meet the shortfall.
Now they go for Undergraduate Studies, why?
Of late, however, a new tendency has developed in India. This is rich Indian parents sending their not-so-bright or outright dumb kids abroad (USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—that is, English-speaking countries) for undergraduate studies. And mind you, they do not go to the famous and reputed universities. They go to universities you might have never heard even the name of. There is no question of getting any GTA/GRA for undergraduate studies. Hence they have to bear the complete cost of their living and tuition there by breaking their parents’ bank.
Because there are colleges that would take dumb kids
However, the question is, why do they send their kids abroad for undergraduate studies? One could understand that foreign universities are far ahead in research in STEM and hence it made some sense to do PhD there. But, why undergraduate study; is our undergraduate program also so bad?
The truth will shock you. There is a large ecosystem of private colleges and universities in the USA, Canada, and the UK that admit international students with very low academic marks and without standardized test scores, primarily in return for high tuition fees. It is actually a mutual benefit racket. There are a large number of private colleges in USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand which do not insist on a high standard for admission to undergraduate (or for that matter, even graduate) programs from international students. Why? They do not insist on tests like SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test). The SAT is a standardized test used by colleges and universities to assess a student’s readiness for college-level studies.
Then how do they decide on admission at all? The truth will shock you again. These below-standard colleges do not insist on even high percentages of marks from Indian students obtained in their 12th (plus two CBSE) standard. I am pointing this out because competition in India for admission to colleges is so tough that anybody with less than 90% marks can virtually forget about a decent college and stream of his choice. On the other hand, these below-standard private colleges take these Indian kids with even 65% marks. All that they demand is proof of proficiency in English through IELTS or TOEFL etc.
A mutual benefit scheme
Now what is their interest? Fact is remittances from international students in general and Indian students in particular have become a lifeline to their finances especially post-Brexit, as EU student numbers dropped. That explains the mutual benefit scheme. From India, all those parents who can afford the cost of living and fees for their mediocre or worse than mediocre kids, despatching their dumb kids abroad is the best option to take them out of the fiercely competitive atmosphere and struggle for job in India. It also saves the kids and the parents both the social shame of not having ‘made it’ in India amidst their peers.
Every Indian knows that under the given system in India, engineering and medical admissions (except for those capable of donations through management quota) are almost impossibly difficult on merit and the job prospects for regular bachelor degrees is darker than a black hole. And after some degree, getting selected through some competitive examination is equally difficult. It is thus a double whammy.
Their courses lack rigorous curricula or fail to align with current industry demands, leading to degrees that offer limited practical value. Surveys have shown that Indian kids, who manage to hang on abroad employing a hundred stratagems of the visa regimes, are not well-placed in jobs after that. The degrees of such colleges are not valued in the job market and they end up doing low-paid jobs. However, the anonymity of living abroad saves them from any embarrassment. If they, for example, drive taxis, work in departmental stores or petrol pumps in India, the traditional ‘social ranking system’ of India would look down upon them. However, if they drive taxis abroad, who knows or bothers back home? Moreover, they and their parents can always flaunt their foreign (lovingly called ‘phoren’) degrees back home. The kids themselves do not other about the intrinsic value of their degrees because for them they are just ornamental and they do not have to use them for any intellectual purpose whatsoever. On the other hand, their remittances keep the colleges financially afloat.
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Legally and technically, it is not a scam, but it exposes the desperation of the moneyed Indians and how the unscrupulous ‘diploma mills’ abroad are colluding with them, even if, on paper they are legally accredited.
Estimates suggest approximately 30,000–40,000 Indian students enrol in UK undergraduate programs annually, based on trends reported by education consultancies and visa data, mainly to third-rate colleges which are simply capitalizing on India’s large ‘desperate’ student market. You don’t require any test except for English language and many of these colleges would waive even that requirement if your class 12th score is over 70%. Even otherwise, they take 5.5–6.5 bands in IELTS also on a 9-point scale. You know that the parents of middle or lower middle-class kids would be close to committing suicide if they scored 70% and had to struggle in India.
Whopping amount rich Indian students inject abroad
International students constitute a very important revenue stream for these countries, often paying higher tuition fees than domestic students. International student fees are a major revenue source for UK universities, contributing £9.5 billion annually to the economy. Convert that to Indian Rs. of about 1,08,610 crore (that is, over a lakh crore) and then you will realize how big the amount it is. In USA, remittances from international students contributed $40.1 billion (that is, over Rs. 3.4 lakh crore) to the economy in 2022-23. This influx supported more than 368,000 jobs nationwide. In Canada in 2022, international students injected $37.3 billion into the Canadian economy, accounting for 1.2% of the nation’s GDP. This spending supported over 361,000 jobs across the country. Third-rate colleges rely almost exclusively on international students to survive; so much so that, in 2023, 96% of the students of the University Canada West (UCW), British Columbia, were international! India is, incidentally, the largest source country for Canada’s international student population.
Costs for Indian students studying in the UK, for example, vary by university, course, and location. However, on an average it is around £22,200 per year (Rs. 25.14 lakh) for undergraduate courses. (In a prestigious university it is up to Rs. 53.4 lakh.) Living expenses are, on an average, about Rs. 17.82 lakh, ignoring lifestyle.
This means that Indian parents who are in a position to cough up say Rs. 43 lakh per year for three years, can easily ‘dump’ their kids in UK and ‘forget’ about the societal tensions of their having not been able to get admission to streams or colleges of their choice or getting selected to some respectable job through competitive exams.
That’s why you have a boom in admissions from India, with agencies and universities hosting fairs in major cities. Historically, organizations like the US Educational Foundation in India (USEFI, now EducationUSA) and the British Council provided guidance on reputable institutions to ensure students avoided dubious colleges. Now, for all practical purposes, they have been replaced by private consultancies, often doubling up as visa agents also.
Bird’s eye view of the ‘Diploma Mills’
One can search himself on Internet such colleges that would take him for undergraduate programs with marks as low as 65%; learn about them through peers or the consultancy services. If you have any doubts about what I have said and you are not inclined to take the trouble of searching yourself, you may follow the recently-made-popular habit of asking famous AI engines like Grok, ChatGPT and Perplexity also and they would instantly reel off list of some colleges.
In USA:
Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA); National Louis University (Chicago, IL); Northwood University (Midland, MI); Marymount Manhattan College (New York, NY); and Saint Leo University (St. Leo, FL).
In Canada:
Seneca College (Toronto, ON); Conestoga College (Kitchener, ON); Humber College (Toronto, ON); Centennial College (Toronto, ON); and George Brown College (Toronto, ON).
In UK:
London South Bank University (London); University of Bolton (Bolton); Regent College London (London); BPP University (London); Arden University (Multiple campuses);
Relax, they would give only illustrative lists; there are hundreds more of such colleges for your dumb kids.
Duffers can do Master’s Programs too
To boost your spirits further, there are many universities that will take your dumb kids even for master’s programs even if the poor fellow has GPA of just 2.0 for some universities. All you need is dough.
In USA:
Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU); Strayer University; Benedict College; Oklahoma City University; Stevens Institute of Technology; and Berea College.
In Canada:
Evergreen College; Memorial University of Newfoundland; Thompson Rivers University; Lakehead University; Vancouver Island University; Cape Breton University; Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Regina.
In UK:
Anglia Ruskin University; University of Bedfordshire (both haven of and heaven for dumb Indian and Pakistani students); University of East London; and Leeds Beckett University.
Kid struggled in 10th – have a heart
If your kid is so dumb as to probably falter even in Class 12th, there is still hope. Many UK colleges have “back-door” routes for international students with low grades, especially via “international foundation courses.” These are one-year programs run by or in partnership with universities, allowing students with poor marks to progress into undergraduate degrees if they pass a relatively easy end-of-year assessment. These include Russell Group Universities; HULT International Business School; University of Central Lancashire; and Middlesex University.
It’s a win-win situation for everybody. Access to substandard international education provides an avenue for kids with moneyed parents to escape the extremely competitive Indian academic and job environment; the colleges abroad survive on their money. Everybody is happy. Never mind that in the end, you get an unhindered proliferation of stupidity in the world.
