UK Education System vs Indian Education: A Detailed Comparative Essay

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the UK and Indian education systems, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of the UK system for international students. It explores aspects such as quality of education, course duration, research infrastructure, and post-study work opportunities in the UK. The essay also highlights the drawbacks of the UK system, including the emphasis on analytical thinking, environmental challenges, and potential stress for students. A detailed comparison is made across theoretical vs practical application, education levels, and approaches to learning. Furthermore, the essay discusses the need for change in the Indian education system, advocating for skill-based education, innovation, and updated teaching methods. It concludes by suggesting measures to improve the Indian system, such as skill development, technology upgrades, and redefining the purpose of education, emphasizing the importance of immediate action to retain talent and resources within the country. This student-contributed assignment is available on Desklib, where students can find a variety of past papers and solved assignments.

Running head: UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 1
UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 2
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Advantages of studying in UK........................................................................................................3
Quality Education........................................................................................................................3
Time period..................................................................................................................................3
Subject Areas and Opportunities..................................................................................................4
Research Infrastructure................................................................................................................4
Work permit after study...............................................................................................................4
Disadvantages..................................................................................................................................5
Analytical thinking.......................................................................................................................5
Environment.................................................................................................................................5
Stress............................................................................................................................................5
Comparison......................................................................................................................................5
Need for change...............................................................................................................................7
How to change.................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 3
Introduction
Studying in abroad is dream of many students who are living in India and that dream is not
subjected to only the level of the education but also it costs a lot of things. Studying in abroad
altogether comprises of new environment, new people and the new ethics and value. Studying in
UK can be as fascinating as travelling to a new city. Further when looked upon the education
system of the India in the comparison to the system of education in UK, there is more forward
approach in the UK system and that’s what has been discussed in this report below. This report
also showcases the advantages and the disadvantages of the UK education system and how it is
different from the Indian system. Further why there is a need for change in the Indian system is
also presented.
Advantages of studying in UK
Quality Education
The advantage of studying in UK starts with the quality of the education, as there are many
countries who like to follow the UK bases education system as the quality is considered as the
best in the world. Due to the quality most of the people are attracted towards the UK universities
because of the quality and the opportunities delivered by the UK education system. UK
universities are amongst the best universities as they consistently deliver the results and also
perform outstandingly in terms of the world ranking (Kelleher, FitzGerald and Hegarty, 2016).
UK higher education degrees and qualifications are recognized by the employers in the firms and
the companies worldwide. The quality can be assured because of the affiliation with the
government bodies. The top universities in the UK are University of Oxford, University of
Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London and London School of
Economics and Political Science (Aithal and Kumar, 2016).
Time period
The students studying in the UK also gets the opportunity to develop the skills and inherent
ability to develop the critical thinking and the straight perspective towards their careers. These
opportunities lead to the global recognition and the special status in the society. The duration of
the course also plays a vital role in the UK based education system as the shorter duration

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 4
courses in UK helps reduce the tuition and the fees of the accommodation. Since the time period
is short there is the crystal opportunity for the students to work side by side, along with the
course they have opted for. This will not only give them the theoretical knowledge but at the
same time the practical exposure is also experienced by the students (Uniserv, 2018).
Subject Areas and Opportunities
The subject areas are of wide nature and there is an ample scope and opportunity in the hands of
the students to decide which subject and stream to opt for. From about 50000 courses and more
than 25 subject areas there is a wide variety on the career plate of the students across England,
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the direct contact with the institutes for acquiring the
proper prospectus. The Master degree can be availed in combination with the PhD which will
again cover the two aspects. The language skills are also upgraded along with the writing skills.
(UK University, 2017).
Research Infrastructure
As a research student grasping the benefits of the IK education system it will be surprising to
note that the UK put forward across 6.3% of the global journal articles,11.6% of the citations and
15.34% of the world’s most supremely cited blogs and the articles even if the population of the
country is just 0.9%. The latest research excellence framework checks the quality of the research
conducted by the more than 156 universities and colleges in United Kingdom itself. When
compared to the data a round about 95185 research doctoral degrees are awarded in the time
frame of 2008 to 2013 (UCAS, 2015).
Work permit after study
There have been serious changes on the post work study visa concept since the year November
2015. The change that has been brought is certainly a benefit to the students who have invested a
lot in during the time of attaining the degree. The students are allowed to get a visa if they hold a
job offer with an annual CTC of 20800 pounds which costs around 18.3 lakhs in INR. Though
there is no limit on the number of the international students to stay in UK however for the
purpose of the completion of the work the students are required to switch from Tier 4 to Tier 2
Visa. The tier 2 Visa is open to recent graduates having a recognized bachelor’s degree from the
university of UK with the condition of having the salary of pound 20800, whereas the tier 1 visa

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 5
is open to the students who are still in the process of developing a process where the students are
also sponsored by the University (Grewal., 2018).
Disadvantages
Analytical thinking
With the pros there are several cons that are also associated with the students who are studying in
UK for the advance studies. Before one sets out for the education in UK an education in UK
requires the analytical thinking right from the school so that the basis or the criteria is formed at
an early stage with regards to what can be done. There is no such facility of change of the majors
as it can be seen in Indian system or the American System.
Environment
New environment is the other thing which is not comfortable for each and every person living in
UK. The students especially from India may have the language as the biggest barrier of the
communication and at times this becomes the real deal to deal with. Moreover the weather also
at times is not suitable hence studying in UK except for the opportunities provided by the United
Kingdom is more costly indirectly. The problem of the new culture and the new surroundings
can be a great hurdle in discovering the real abilities for which the student came for (Verma and
Pumfrey, 2017).
Stress
At times the students are too stressed during their semester that they are not having their daily
routines in a proper manner. Though there is a less time to get a degree in UK yet this itself
becomes a hurdle with the fact that too much needs to be completed in less time and hence to
everyone can cope up with it at a very early stage. The series of exam, the project deadlines and
the submission of all the important papers wipes out all the energy of the person and hence the
student becomes tired and monotonous in nature. The stress reaches to such a level that the
students may suffer from even depression or the severe head problems (Altbach, 2015).
Comparison
Basis Indian Education System UK Education system

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 6
Theoretical as well as the
practical application
This system focuses more
towards the theory. The
students are required to mug
up the answers despite not
understanding the concept
(Altbach, 2015).
This system gives the ability
to the student to get the
practical insight along with the
theoretical concepts learnt.
Bifurcation of education at
different levels
SSC-10TH Class
HSC-12TH Class
GCSE
A-Levels
Education as a business In India the private institutions
are providing the education on
the basis of expanding the
business rather than providing
the facilities and the key
knowledge to the students
(Ben-David, 2017).
In united kingdom the
scenario is altogether opposite.
The education system is
focused on providing the
education to each and every
child with minimal fees (Wolf,
2016).
Stream choice In Indian system the students
are encouraged to study more
towards those stream that may
lend you with the higher pay
scale or the white collar job
and the sports are considered
as the leftovers (Caplan,
2018).
In the system of the United
kingdom there is a wide
variety of selection of the
stream and over 50000 courses
are available from different
fields. May it be music,
cricket, theatre each subject
and stream has its own
significance and importance.
Approach Indian system follows the
broad approach towards the
education.
This system follows the casual
approach towards the
education system (Brayboy,
Faircloth, Lee, Maaka and
Richardson, 2015).
Education v/s other activities In Indian system the education
is given more importance
In United Kingdom the entire
concept is of UK and that does

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 7
rather than to the activities for
the purpose of earnings. The
curriculum of India is limited
with respect to science,
commerce and arts.
not mean they do not focus on
the education, they are more
interested in the practical
application of whatever is
learnt.
(Source: Uniserv, 2018).
Need for change
The students must be encouraged to focus on skill based education as the education having only
theoretical knowledge seems to be a lemon without seed which cannot grow further. Hence the
education should be a continuous process rather than a stagnant one (Brayboy, Faircloth, Lee,
Maaka and Richardson, 2015). Rewards must be aligned not only towards the students who
achieve the highest marks but also to those who have different ideology or have the ability to
think in the different manner and can bring innovation. Innovation is the biggest key towards the
success of the individual as well as the entire country, where the practical approach is necessity
to deal with the real life situation and not just the hypothetical one (Ashwin, Abbas and McLean,
2015).

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 8
The Indian should get the new systems of teaching and practicing as the old and the conventional
methods can be limited to the preprimary education but for the purpose of the higher education
the teaching methods needs a revision (Kumar, 2019). The implementation of the massive
infrastructure and the advance technology will give the same kind of environment as what they
get when they shift to UK for attaining higher education.
Redefining the purpose of the education can also be a great initiative towards the change as there
is no more space for the colonial system of education and the world needs new entrepreneurs,
artists, scientists and thinkers who can think out of the box (Ben-David, 2017).
How to change
There are several methods which can be used to change the existing scenario of the education
system in India and some of the examples are the development of the skill where the students are
made to focus more over the skills rather than just the numbers. The subjects like general
knowledge and the competitive aptitude must be made compulsory as this will not only build the
analytical mind of the students at the same time it will helpful for the students who would like to
complete the post graduate program as a part of the career enhancement. The up gradation of the
technology for the online teaching is also useful in today’s time frame. In this way the education
system can be changed and given a chance to develop in a better manner (Cropley, 2017).
Conclusion
In order to bring the change as discussed above the Indian system shall take the necessary
measure and steps towards the new and the innovative way of educating. The money of the
country will rotate in the country itself and therefore it is necessary to bring the change
immediately. Since the UK based system supports the high level of interaction between the
students and the lecturers this gives the freedom to the students for choosing the subject this
gives the students a sense of identity which the Indian education system must imply in their
system. Hence it is a high recommendation to the system of the Indian education to bring the
change so that the students can compete in a better manner and can save the money of the
country and can invest in the country itself for further growth and sustainability. This change in
system will not only bring the new mindset within the students but the students will be more
active and they can contribute more towards the growth of the nation.

UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 9
References
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Aithal, P.S. and Kumar, P.M., 2016. Analysis of Choice Based Credit System in Higher
Education. International Journal of Engineering Research and Modern Education (IJERME)
Volume I, Issue I, pp.278-284.
Altbach, P., 2015. Knowledge and education as international commodities. International higher
education, (28).
Altbach, P., 2015. Perspectives on internationalizing higher education. International Higher
Education, (27).
Ashwin, P., Abbas, A. and McLean, M., 2015. Representations of a high-quality system of
undergraduate education in English higher education policy documents. Studies in Higher
Education, 40(4), pp.610-623.
Ben-David, J., 2017. Centers of Learning: Britain, France, Germany, United States. Routledge.
Brayboy, B.M.J., Faircloth, S.C., Lee, T.S., Maaka, M.J. and Richardson, T.A., 2015.
Sovereignty and education: An overview of the unique nature of Indigenous education. Journal
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UK EDUCATION VS INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM 10
Kumar, N., 2019. The Curriculum, and the Hidden Curriculum, in Indian Education, 1985 to the
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