Terming India an “affordable destination” for quality education, HRD minister Smriti Irani on Monday said the release of rankings of educational institutions and decision by IITs to hold entrance tests abroad will draw more foreign students to the country.
Speaking at an event organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Irani spoke of the importance of educational and cultural diplomacy. “The challenge before the country’s educational institutions is whether the engagement with foreign students is to be limited only on the basis of scholarships or can they be invited because of excellence in various fields,” she said.
“India is an affordable destination for high quality education,” she said. Irani said the rankings of Indian institutes under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) will be out on April 4 and asked MEA officials to leverage this data to reach out to foreign students.