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Wen Assures Greater Student Exchange With India
Wen Assures Greater Student Exchange With India
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Tuesday agreed to allow more Indians to study in his country if New Delhi reciprocated the gesture.
We can further increase the quota for Indian students to study (under a new official arrangement) in China. But India should do the same for Chinese students, Wen said, replying to a question after addressing students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here.
Wen had Monday said he would invite 100 Indian students every year to visit China to experience the development in his country.
Indian students are, however, free to pay and join Chinese universities, 23 of which are currently here wooing Indians to pursue higher education in that country.
I am a student of textile technology. What has your government done to ease regulations for students to visit China? Abhinav, who gave only one name, had asked the Chinese premier.
This prompted Wen to give an assurance of increasing the quota for student exchanges.
The Chinese premiers four-day India visit concluded with the interaction at the institute.
There is an established trend that if one studies in IIT, one should only head to the US or Europe. But we hope this will change after the Chinese prime ministers visit, said Amit, an IIT student.
What has prevented students from exploring opportunities in China is the lack of information. The language barrier has also compounded the situation, he said.
When Nidhi, a third-year electrical engineering student, asked Wen whether China will set up institutions like IITs, the Chinese premier replied: We have a very advanced higher education system with over 2,000 institutions and 20 million students.
But I understand your question and acknowledge the fact that IIT is a world-class institution, Wen said.
Wen said Indian software engineers could complement the Chinese hardware sector and the two together could develop their own intellectual property rights.
Each announcement of Wen that hinted at greater India-China cooperation was received with clapping by the students and the academicians.
We are prepared to open our doors for students (including Chinese) if they are prepared to contribute to the development of our country, the IIT Delhi registrar, Col. (retired) Rajendra Singh, told.