In a surprise paradigm shift, foreign students seeking admission to Delhi University have opted for Political Science and History this year. Their general preference has been Economics and Commerce.
Academicians attributed this change to our democratic set-up, which attracts students from all over the world. Rajesh Jha, a Political Science Professor at the Rajdhani College, said the democratic system and recent political developments should be given credit for the change.
“If we look into the growing interest of foreign students in Political Science in India, it would largely be due to the rich background of the country with respect to its communal politics and the democracy amid it,” said Jha.
“There is a lot of interest in foreign nationals about Gandhi and they want to know and explore his country. It is not necessarily the Indian Constitution that interests them, but the way things are executed. Also, courses here explore areas of international politics,” the professor added.
This year, the university has received 2,500 applications from foreign students, a number that has increased steadily over recent years. According to Deputy Dean Veena Mishra, the university received 2,200 applications from international aspirants and admitted more than 700 last year.
However, associate professor in the department of political science Satyajit Singh has a different take.
He said education in India is comparatively cheaper and better, attracting students. “Education cannot be country-specific in terms of the matter, but it can in the skills, writing abilities and system that it executes. India presents the latter part with excellence. Our education system is certainly better and qualitative, which is clearly visible through Indian students doing better abroad,” Singh added.
Whatever be the reason, DU remains a big draw. Student from 100 countries apply at the university, mainly from Nepal, Bangladesh, other SAARC countries like Bhutan, Sri lanka and from Russia.