Mumbai scores low as student hot spot

Mumbai might be the hot destination for professionals of all descriptions, but it falls short while attracting students. Blame it on the prohibitive cost of living or the outsiders’ perception of quality of education here, but the city has some catching up to do with other cities to score in students’ preference.

According to a survey by an education portal, Delhi and Bangalore are the most popular destinations for students willing to study out of their towns. Both the cities are mostly preferred for commerce, engineering, arts and management courses. Mumbai does not top the chart of education destinations for any of these courses.

Minglebox.com’s survey covered 2,000 students across the metros and tier-II and tier-III cities. Nearly 40% of the students were from tier-II and tier-III cities. The respondents were asked about best institutes in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad.

A majority of the students felt that institutes in and around Delhi were the best for courses in arts, commerce and medicine, while institutes in Bangalore were good for management, engineering and science. Institutes in Mumbai did not figure among the top choices for any stream.

In fact, only 8% of the respondents said that Mumbai had good engineering colleges, as opposed to 29% who said institutes in Bangalore were better. Mumbai stood second only for best institutes in arts and commerce. The survey did not include the Indian Institutes of Management and the Indian Institute of Technology.

Kavita Iyer, the CEO of Minglebox, which has a user base of four million, said, “Mumbai may not be the top destination due to various other factors like affordability. Several students - 36% — said that the cost of living in a new city is the major deciding factor.”

Several respondents also stated that lack of information about new courses in colleges also is a problem while choosing colleges.

The survey reveals that 50% of the students are interested in studying out of their town just to experience an independent life. While it was believed earlier that most students moved out for higher education, the survey reveals that more students step out of their towns for undergraduate studies.

Devika Rane, a class XII student and an aspiring engineer, said, “Most of the colleges in our city do not market their courses well. In fact, there are too many problems plaguing institutes in the city like lack of faculty, good infrastructure, poor placements, etc. These days, state-based entrance exams are not very popular.” Rane has her eyes set on the All India Engineering Entrance Exams (AIEEE).

Shailaja Mulay, career counsellor from Mumbai, feels city colleges are as competent as their counterparts in other cities. “The colleges here are overcrowded. Also Delhi and Bangalore have more colleges. There are enough seats available for outside students.”