UK Education System: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Comparison

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the education systems in the United Kingdom and India, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages for international students. It highlights the UK's emphasis on quality education, shorter course durations, and industry-focused learning, while also addressing issues such as high pressure and limited subject choices. The essay then examines the Indian education system, noting challenges like funding constraints and teacher quality, alongside improvements in primary education and vocational training. The comparison underscores the differences in educational environments and opportunities, culminating in recommendations for enhancing the Indian education system based on the UK model. Desklib offers access to similar essays and solved assignments for students seeking comprehensive study resources.

Running head: ACADEMIC ESSAY
Academic Essay
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ACADEMIC ESSAY
The purpose of the following essay is to compare the education systems of two countries.
Education is regarded as an essential element for the growth of nations. Therefore, the
Government of countries should always put more focus on their education systems in the best
manner. The advantages and disadvantages of the education system will be discussed in this
essay because critiques are always significant for the overall improvement of a system. The
education systems that would be compared in this scenario are the United Kingdom and India.
Several studies have found that the Indian education system has many demerits and these
are very problematic for this system to be one of the best in the world (Ball 2012). On a different
note, it must be clarified that both the education systems have their own merits and demerits.
This is why it is quite difficult to say which education system is the better one. They both have
some similarities and differences. It is a matter of pride for both education systems that they both
have been successful in developing many legends from their system. The Indian education
system also has some shades of the British education system because India used to be a colony of
Britain for almost 200 years.
Thesis statement
The essay will be conducted around the researches regarding the advantages and drawbacks
of both Indian and British education system. The setting of the education system is different
on some grounds since my home country is India and recommendations will be given in this
essay on how to develop the education system of India.
Higher education is regarded as the most intensified perspective on how the students can
develop their career and become one of the most successful persons in their profession. The
provision of higher education is very crucial for this development. In this essay, the discussions

2ACADEMIC ESSAY
will be carried through depending on the choices of the government and how they could cater to
the needs of the students (Ball 2012). Many types of research have been done in this perspective
and outcomes are quite interesting as well. The most critical factor in the United Kingdom
education system is the quality of education that they provide to their students. This is why
numerous students come here to study their favorite subjects in different colleges and
universities of the country (Pring et al. 2012).
The studies have suggested that more than 400,000 students come to the United Kingdom
and get admitted in colleges and universities based in there. Most of the universities based in the
United Kingdom have good critic ratings as their time frame is quite acknowledgeable and their
learning methods are quite helpful for the betterment of students (Pring et al. 2012). They focus
on the improvement of their students in one to one sessions finding out the drawbacks and issues
of students. This is how they go on to provide the best learning facilities for their students in the
best manner (Salter and Tapper 2013).
The UK based universities give degrees to their students that are given much value by
several foreign companies. This is why students opt for UK based universities to pursue their
higher education. The professors of these universities also provide proper scopes for students to
indulge in critical thinking (Salter and Tapper 2013). This is quite inspiring for students to
develop their thinking capacities and make them suitable in getting jobs in multinational
companies. The professors also provide the students with proper knowledge of specific industries
they want to get in. The opportunities for making communication are abundant in universities as
well (Beauchamp-Pryor 2012). This helps them to get a good job placements along with
affordable salaries.

3ACADEMIC ESSAY
Apart from that, UK based universities also offer students sponsorships if they can extend
their visas. Another merit of the UK higher education system is the fact that it is very much
beneficial for international students is the timeline of the education system. Most professional
courses in the UK are mostly of three years or less (Beauchamp-Pryor 2012). This permits them
to pursue other courses if they have time. On the contrary, university.es and colleges of India and
other countries have their higher education courses extended up to 4 or 5 years on average. This
is much time taking, and professional careers of students take more time to begin. In the other
hand, students have to concentrate on the main subject to deepen their knowledge, but
universities in other countries compel their students to study more than one subject along with
their main subject. Thus they become confused, and this mostly affects their study (Gibbs and
Jenkins 2014). This becomes somewhat hectic for them and comes as a negative point.
There is another merit of the UK educational system. It is the positive and professional
approaches of teachers who always care for students and look for ways how their skills could be
improved. There is a specific learning model that has to be implemented in universities of UK. It
is the Enquiry Based Learning Model (EBLM). Through this model, students are taught to
develop ideas of situations from real life (Gibbs and Jenkins 2014). This is quite an innovative
approach that helps students to tackle any difficult conditions. This is how students of UK based
universities get to experience premium learning abilities. If these learning models are
implemented properly, students of UK universities would surely be benefitted and they will be in
a better position than Indian university students.
Some statistics will be given in this section regarding United Kingdom Higher Education.
It has been noted that around 162 universities had been under public funding through one of the
funding councils of the United Kingdom (Universitiesuk.ac.uk 2019). It has been recorded in

4ACADEMIC ESSAY
2016-17 that around 2.32 million students had been studying in the universities of United
Kingdom. Out them 1.76 million were undergraduate students and 551,585 were postgraduate
students (Universitiesuk.ac.uk 2019). There were as much as 134,835 students who belonged to
countries of European Union. There were also 307,540 students from non-member countries of
the European Union (Universities UK.ac.uk 2019). This certainly means that people of different
countries preferred to come to the United Kingdom to avail higher education facilities. Statistics
have shown that more than 90% of students graduated from UK universities have been placed in
jobs of their fields. They got these jobs within six months of leaving the universities. In the year
2016-17, around 206,870 staffs had been employed in the UK universities, and a number of non-
academic staffs employed was 212,840 (Universitiesuk.ac.uk 2019). Teaching fees for UK
based universities are more than $15 million. United Kingdom Government has spent around $5
million for research work. The university or higher education sector of United Kingdom has
contributed around $21.5 million of the GDP of the country that rises up to 2.1%
(Universitiesuk.ac.uk 2019).
Some disadvantages of the UK higher education system should be discussed in this
scenario as well. Students get abundant job opportunities by studying in UK based universities,
yet there are some issues with it as well (Sam and Van Der Sijde 2014). At first, students have to
select one significant subject long before they begin with their course. Also they are not at all
allowed to change their subjects if they find it difficult. Secondly, the education system of United
Kingdom is , and students find it very difficult to adjust with it in some cases. In free times
students are not allowed to indulge in amusements and recreational activities. Students have to
study all the time. Thirdly, students have to complete their course within three years compared to
4 or 5 years in other countries. Therefore, they get very little time to study all their subjects.

5ACADEMIC ESSAY
Fourthly, students get stressed out very often since the pressure of professors is very high. They
face some serious health hazards in this discourse (Brown, Bull and Pendlebury 2013). Fifthly,
students will not get the opportunity to focus on other subjects since it is not in the rule. Thus, it
can be said that health of the students is very much affected once they get admitted in UK based
universities (Brown and Carasso 2013).
Next up, the education system of India will have to be focused on to find the sharp
contrast between the UK and Indian educational system (Shattock, M., 2012.) It must be done
since my home country is India and I must know what the differences between these two
educational systems are. The central education system in India is mainly based on the control of
the central government and local state governments. The central and state governments have to
control numerous other departments apart from education (Brown, Bull and Pendlebury 2013).
This is why it is very problematic for Government to focus on every student specifically. The
rate of school and college dropouts has been on the increase in the last four or five years.
However, the central government of India has assured Rights for Education for every
person within the domain of the country. Therefore, it is a matter of control of the education
department on how they can cut down this rate of college dropouts. The financial crisis is also
considered as a primary difficulty for this. The growth of the economy in India is not high as the
UK mostly because of massive population of the country (De la Mothe and Paquet 2012).
Families of most children suffer from poverty, and they do not get the opportunity to join
schools. So, the number of college students decreases automatically. However, the enhancement
programs in primary education have done exceptionally good. In states like Kerala, the literacy
rate is very high. Some critics have also said that India has achieved significant advancement in
higher education as well (Kapur 2012).

6ACADEMIC ESSAY
The quality of education has been improved as well with time. Students are provided with
better facilities in India (De la Mothe and Paquet 2012). Nowadays, students get better outcomes
from the professional education program related to vocational and management courses. Some
universities have been, and this has improved the quality of education die to professional
approaches of teachers and students. There is a high risk of increasing college fees due to
privatization of universities (Austin and Jones 2016). This will be a problem for students who
belong to an economically backwards section. If these privatized bodies increase their fees, a part
of meritorious students will not get the opportunity to study there.
In the modern scenario, there are around 1500 colleges that provide graduation facilities
in India. Some important significant subjects that have dominated the education scenario are
Business Management and Engineering. Therefore, management colleges are on the increase as
well. Around 600,000 students take admissions in different management and engineering
colleges in the country. On the other hand, several complaints have been received by higher
authorities of colleges as well (Austin and Jones 2016). This is some families in India send their
children abroad to study professional courses. The tendency of sending students to UK and USA
has been seen so they can learn better. The number of international students in Indian universities
is very low and this is in sharp contrast with the United Kingdom.
There are many disadvantages of Indian higher educational system (Kapur 2012). Most
colleges and universities do not have properly experienced and professional teachers. This
reflects in the poor quality of education given to students in those colleges. The learning
outcomes of students are not met most times (Brown and Carasso 2013). The environment of
educational institutions sponsored by Government is not at all healthy and hygienic. The poor
quality of educational is never able to meet the needs of international standards. In UK, students

7ACADEMIC ESSAY
get proper opportunities to develop as a self learner. This opportunity is very hardly present in
very few universities in India. This is why educational infrastructure in UK is far ahead of India
(Garland 2013). In rural areas of India, the school dropout rate is above than 30% and it is
around 20% in urban areas of the country.
Therefore, most students do not get the opportunity to get admitted to schools. Another
disadvantage of this system is students do not understand the placements. This happens to be one
of the most significant problems for the Indian higher education system (Kennedy 2013). Indian
national government does not also have a national education program that can cater to the needs
of the students in the entire country. These things have created great problems for the
development and growth of students. Just like that, an innovative approach to study is not
adopted, and Indian university students suffer from creative functionalities (Majumdar and Mooij
2012).
It should be recommended that schools and colleges have some reserved seats for
students who belong to weaker economic sections. This will motivate students to get admitted in
both public and private colleges. Apart from that, teachers should be trained in a better manner
so students can be highly benefitted. The government can appoint some experts as a part of the
recruitment committee who would select the best teachers with excellent academic qualifications
and professional approach towards teaching. Some innovative approaches should also be taken in
colleges so students can adopt with self-learning methods. This will create a better situation in
terms of student development. The rate of college dropouts should also be cut down to 0.
On a concluding note, it can be mentioned that comparisons have been made between the
educational system of United Kingdom and India. The condition of the Indian education system

8ACADEMIC ESSAY
is deplorable due to the ignorance of local and national government. On the contrary, educational
systems of the United Kingdom is continuously enhancing by the development of innovative
approaches. The development of the British education system has been on a high but Indian
education system is lagging far behind it. The professional attitudes of teachers and students
have been a key for the success of British education.

9ACADEMIC ESSAY
References and Bibliography
Altbach, P.G. ed., 2013. The international imperative in higher education. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Altbach, P.G., 2016. Global perspectives on higher education. JHU Press.
Austin, I. and Jones, G.A., 2016. Governance of higher education. Global Perspectives, Theories
and.
Ball, S.J., 2012. Politics and policy making in education: Explorations in sociology. Routledge.
Beauchamp-Pryor, K., 2012. Changes in the political and policy response towards disabled
students in the British higher education system: a journey towards inclusion. Scandinavian
Journal of Disability Research, 14(3), pp.254-269.
Brown, G.A., Bull, J. and Pendlebury, M., 2013. Assessing student learning in higher education.
Routledge.
Brown, R. and Carasso, H., 2013. Everything for sale? The marketisation of UK higher
education. Routledge.
Brown, R. and Carasso, H., 2013. Everything for sale? The marketisation of UK higher
education. Routledge.
De la Mothe, J. and Paquet, G. eds., 2012. Local and regional systems of innovation (Vol. 14).
Springer Science & Business Media.

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Garland, J., 2013. Beyond the asterisk: Understanding Native students in higher education.
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quality with reduced resources. Routledge.
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Kapur, D., 2012. Indian higher education. In The Globalization of Higher Education (pp. 177-
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Kennedy, L., 2013. The politics of economic restructuring in India: Economic governance and
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Routledge.

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