India to have its own TOEFL for foreign students

Highlights:

• India might soon have its own TOEFL for foreign students seeking education in India.
• This move might improve India’s ranking as a preferred education destination.
• Students from non-English speaking countries find it difficult to cope with English medium education in India.

Mumbai, Maharashtra: According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), India is likely to develop its own English Language test similar to the Test of English as a Foreign Language or TOEFL for foreign students. This move is directed towards improving India’s ranking as a preferred education destination. 

This week, the President of The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe was reported as saying that there were several brainstorming sessions with the Niti Aayog, UGS, and other institutions to identify factors that refrain India from becoming one of the top 10 or 15 destinations for education. Currently, India is the 26th most-preferred destination for education and the government wants to get it into the top 10/15.

One of the top ten factors that were identified was the difficulty faced by students coming from non-English speaking countries in coping with the English medium of education in India. Hence, and English Language test will help in getting students who can cope with the medium of instruction and lead to an improvement in rankings of India as an education destination. Dr. Sahasrabuddhe also said that they were planning to build hostels that provide accommodation to couples since many foreign students are married.

With the mission of making India a preferred education hub, the ICCR is collaborating with Symbiosis International and Savitribai Phule Pune University to organize a national conference called ‘Destination India’ in Pune on January 28 and 29, 2020. This conference will endeavor to create a roadmap to bring over two lakh foreign students to India by 2022.

Read more General Education News here.

Pranjal Srivastava

Pranjal Srivastava is pursuing BBA and is a news content writer at Toppr since October 2019.