MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF AFRICAN STUDENTS EXPERIENCE IN INDIA – A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The task of this paper is to critically and empirically appraise the experience of African students in India as reported in the media in most recent time. In this, it embarked on a historical and analytical examination of Africa-India relations. The paper observes that India has been grossly sabotaged and undermined by image crisis as a result of the unpleasant experience of the African students. The article rallied heavily on secondary data especially media reports. It argued that the perception about Indians by foreign students has not been wholly positive and has paradoxically distorted India’s international image. Thus, this paper hinged on a combination of factors, the chief among them been the contradiction and dissonance between India’s image projected in the Africa and the daily experience of African students in India. The paper concluded with a call to reposition India’s reputation in the minds of African students through a strategic collaborative effort of the government, media, higher education institutions, host communities and the African students.