Interesting point. The same could be said about K-12 education (in the US), where it's funded by local communities through property taxes but the grads often pick up and move to cities like NYC and SF. However, providing a differing education to those who are gifted has low marginal costs - AP teachers are paid the same amount, and teachers will often take less pay to work with motivated students. Obviously, students (and adults) who fall from the cracks may become dependent on the local communities, so there is high ROI for the taxpayer there as well.

Broadly speaking and if it can be done effectively, funding education on a higher municipal level makes more sense as it's less likely recipients will take their education elsewhere.

The proportion of IIT graduates leaving India has significantly decreased over the years. Last year just 200 went abroad.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/indias-brain-...

The article is highly misleading. Only 200 students got job offers from international companies in on campus placements.

The majority that head out go for graduate education. The statistic doesn't take them into consideration.

The 200 is absolutely bogus.

Unfortunately for the US, proposed revisions to immigration policy may be sending more of that brain drain back.

Also, in general, more public funding for education does pay for itself in the long run, though I'm not sure how that's adjusted for net emigration.

(Edit: corrected fat fingered typo.)

So true. I got my CS degree at a top school in US, I work at a good startup and get paid very well. But I am so disillusioned with the United States, I feel like going back to India is much better than being an H1B slave.

While it is indeed a problem that most graduates of IIT leave India, the solution is most certainly not to terminate its funding. There can be other mechanisms put in place, like owing the govt. sponsored fees if the worker decides to leave the country and such.