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Study trends in 2013

According to estimates in a report released by ASSOCHAM, nearly eight lakh Indian students spent over Rs 10,000 crore on overseas education in 2012-13. The report, titled ‘Funds flows out of India for Higher Education 2013’, reveals that the country needs quality institutes on the lines of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) for students wanting to pursue careers in management, accounting, engineering and chartered accountancy. Such an approach would not only restrict the outgo foreign exchange but also spread of global standards within the country increasing employability of the students in the industry and research institutions.

DS Rawat, secretary general, ASSOCHAM, called for deregulation of higher education and reversing the trend of brain drain by opening up a series of quality institutions with public private partnership, while commenting on the findings of the report.

Making a comparative analysis of the expenditure incurred by Indian students studying in India and those studying abroad, the report states that while an IIT student incurs an expenditure of USD 150 per month as fees, those opting to go abroad incur anywhere between USD 200-600, per month, in countries such as US, Canada, Australia and UK.

The report additionally adds that deregulation of the higher education sector will also make India a leading destination for students hailing from other developing countries. While USA tops the list with 82% enrollment in the higher education sector, countries with low enrollment in this space constitute Pakistan (5%), India (12%), China (20%) and Brazil (24%).

The report also finds that about 95% of all entrance exam takers in the IITs and IIMs do not make it due to capacity constraints in these institutes and end up taking admissions abroad. While currently there are about 900 million jobs in India, 90% of these are skill-based, requiring vocational training, 9% are knowledge based and only 1% require both knowledge and skills.

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Number of TOEFL takers increases in India

According to data released by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the volume of TOEFL test takers in India surged 7 percent in 2012 compared to 2011.

In 2012, 67 percent of TOEFL test takers in India were male and 33 percent were female. The total mean age for TOEFL test takers in India in 2012 was 22.9 years old.

This trend also evident in other countries, continues the impressive global growth for the test for the seventh consecutive year, say company officials. In 2012, TOEFL test takers represented 180 countries. And, 90 percent of TOEFL test takers got into their first- or second-choice university or college.

"For more than 45 years the TOEFL test has been helping Indian students meet their educational goals," commented David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ETS's Global Division. "We are forecasting continued growth in 2013 and will monitor capacity in India, adding additional testing centers to respond to demand so that every student who wishes to take the TOEFL test has the opportunity to do so."

That TOEFL is being accepted by 8,500 institutions in 130 countries have made the test very popular. It is alos one of the least expensive ones and gets completed in half a day. In addition, in 2011, Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship approved the TOEFL test for use for student visas in Australia.

Mumbai girl tops GRE with full marks

Mumbai girl Ashwini Nene has topped the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) -- a pre-requisite for admissions to most US graduate schools and for some other countries - by scoring full marks of 340/340, an official said here Wednesday.

Nene, 20, is a student of Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Andheri.

The GRE results were announced by Educational Testing Services, a US-based organisation that conducts the examinations worldwide.

Coached by KIC Education in Andheri, Nene is one of the few students globally to have scored a full marks in a revised and tougher GRE format this year.

"Ashwini Nene has many great attributes which went into producing the special score. She stands out for her humility, is very coachable and ensured that she made every classroom session count by absorbing all concepts and applying them effectively during practice," said KIC Education's founder and chief mentor G Kohli.

Nene said that the strategies taught by KIC Education were brilliant and she used them while giving the actual test, besides specific instructions for different question types, 20-30 tests in hard and soft formats, which help her get 340/340.

"It is hard to predict what (questions) one will get and though I expected to get close to 340, I did not anticipate an absolute score. Now, I shall focus on my academic and build a strong profile to qualify for the best universities in the US," Nene said.

Nene's parents are technology professionals in the northwest Mumbai Vile Parle suburb.