In comparison to the 444,553 students who traveled abroad in 2021, the data revealed a remarkable 68% rise in the number of students traveling abroad. Data from the education ministry released in Parliament on Monday show that the number of Indian students attending higher education institutions abroad reached a six-year high in 2022 at 750,365.
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Junior education minister Subhash Sarkar offered this information in a written response to a query posed by Lok Sabha members Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Santosh Kumar, and Dinesh Chandra Yadav regarding the rising number of Indian students who choose to pursue further education abroad.
The data showed that, compared to 444,553 students traveling abroad in 2021, the number of students traveling abroad has significantly increased by 68%. Studying abroad has become increasingly popular among students, increasing from 454,009 in 2017 to 517,998 in 2018 and 586,337 in 2019. The COVID-19 epidemic, according to ministry data, caused the number to decrease by 50%, to 259,655 in 2020.
According to Sarkar, there was no indicator to measure the category of Indians who went abroad for higher education. The Ministry of Home Affairs Bureau of Immigration keeps track of Indians’ departures and arrivals. “The purpose of Indians going abroad for higher education is captured manually based either on their verbal disclosure or the type of visa of the destination country produced by them at the time of immigration clearance,” the minister said.
Foreign University Campuses in Indian Students Proposed by UGC
According to Sarkar, the University Grants Commission has already drafted enabling regulations to facilitate the establishment of campuses of foreign higher educational institutions in India in response to a question about whether the government has any plans to establish a high-standard international university to reduce the outflow of funds.
By public notice dated January 5, 2024, the draft University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2024, were made available to the public, and all interested parties were asked to provide feedback, suggestions, comments, etc. by January 18, 2024. The deadline for comments on the proposed regulations, however, has now been extended until February 20, 2024, in response to requests from stakeholders, he added.
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UGC Chair M. Jagadesh Kumar responded to the trend by noting that more students are moving abroad for their studies on a global scale. “Student migration is increasing, not just for Indian students but for students around the world.” Around 200 million people were enrolled in higher education institutions worldwide in 2014. “This number will double by 2030. These students will include a sizable proportion of Indians. They would pursue higher education abroad in addition to looking for study possibilities at the top Indian institutions, he said.
Credits: The Mint
Inviting international colleges to establish campuses in India, according to Kumar, is not intended to lower the number of students who study overseas. “It is their free choice, and they will continue to seek out the opportunity to work overseas as well as the experience of doing so. But the international university campuses established in India thanks to UGC regulations will give students who prefer to reside in India but receive a top-notch education from a foreign university another option, he said.
