After my first few days of study at the Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts it was fairly obvious that the two educational systems were completely different. At BU I would attend maybe 4 hours worth of lectures within a week; whereas here 4 hours of lectures is a typical day.
The lectures are also far different to that of BU. In Bournemouth, a lecture would consist of an ongoing 90 minutes PowerPoint presentation which accompanied the lecture. There would also probably be a big discussion and most likely a 15 minute break, making them feel much more interactive. However in India, the lectures are far more ordered and linear. The lecturer will deliver all the information to you within the two hours and a student responds by listening and taking notes.
These core differences lead me to believe there is a much different attitude and level of commitment from a student studying at Symbiosis. In the halls, the students are woken up at 7am sharp by a bell every morning. It is their own desire to continue to snooze, but none the less, there is a practice ensuring all students are on time. This again is far different to Bournemouth were the average student reluctantly drags his/her hungover self out of their bed for that daunting 9am, but in most cases fails miserably.
Speaking of hungover. There seems to be a huge difference in the students’ attitude towards drinking. In India drinking is a bit of a luxury and can cost up to 400 rupees which is equivalent to £4.20 (similar to English prices). This therefore prohibits Indian students from drinking regularly as they have far less money than an average English student would. Also, our local hostels and student halls have a curfew of 10pm, meaning a night out has to be cleared and negotiated in advance; and even then you must make your own arrangements for somewhere to sleep.
This allows students to be 100% more focused and it gives them the opportunity of making significantly better lives for themselves and their family. The disparity in wealth between the two countries is a major reason to why Indian students have a much stronger level of commitment, care, responsibility and strictness towards their education. Some students can’t allow themselves to get distracted from the course has it could have much stronger implications to their livelihoods then it would for a typical English student.