Indian military band musicians take part in India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Jan. 26, 2008. /REUTERS

According to the Indian Embassy in Seoul, an increasing number of elementary and secondary school students go to India on student visas every year. In 2005, the number was 1,156, but in 2006, the number increased to 1,435. There are about 100 Korean students at the prestigious Woodstock School in the northern Indian city of Dehradun, or 20 percent of the 500-strong student body.

Chung Hong-sik, a 44-year-old resident of Ulsan, has sent his two sons aged 12 and 13 to an international school near Mumbai. "At first, I wanted to send them to the U.S. or the U.K. But I changed my mind when a neighbor of mine, who had already sent his children to India, persuaded me. I believe my children will have more opportunities in India, a rapidly growing country."

Kang Suk-jin, a chief consultant with EnecKorea, a private agency specializing in study- in-India programs, said, "For three to four years now, parents have taken a keener interest in sending their children to India to study. These days, we meet 20 to 30 parents who're interested in sending their children to India every day."

It is chiefly due to English-language education fever that India has rapidly emerged as an alternative to the U.S. and the U.K. for Korean students. There are more than 100 international schools all over India where all classes are conducted in English.

They adopt different qualifications, offering the International Baccalaureate (IB), the Cambridge education system, the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and the Council for the Indian School Certificate (ICSE). Graduates of these schools can go on to universities in the U.S., the U.K. or India.

Kim Hye-jung (41) has sent two daughters to an international school in the new town of Gurgaon near Delhi. "I believe it will be easy for my children to go to American universities, as they are studying in India, where the strict British-style educational tradition still remains,” she says. Korean parents are chiefly attracted by the lower costs.

Lim Sang-hee, the director of Indora, another private agency specializing in India programs, said, "It usually costs more than W40 million (US$1=W941) a year including expenses for homestay and education at a private school in the U.S. But including expenses for a top-rate dormitory and education at an international or private school in India costs only some W20 million."

Math education is another strength. Under the CBSE program adopted by more than 70 percent of Indian schools, 11th and 12th graders receive an intensive math education where courses are similar to those for college sophomores in Korea.

Lee Geon-jun (39), a doctoral candidate in Sanskrit studies at the University of Delhi, said Indian education is famous for Vedic Maths, a sytem based on advanced principles.

But not a few students fail to adapt and come home. Chung Hong-sik said, "With the help of the study program agency, 12 students including my children went to India together, but eight of them have returned. In traditionally conservative India, teachers instill strict discipline in their students and students are bound by many restrictions.” Unable to cope with this strict environment, many Korean students return to Korea or go to other countries.

(englishnews@chosun.com )