Rise of 188% in number of students leaving country between 2020-22

As UK plans to restrict number of foreign students to control migration, a look at Indian students abroad and how UK stacks up as their preferred study destination. (Image: News18 Creative)

There has been a rise of 188 percent in the number of students who have left India for higher education, a parliamentary response read.

Stating that studies abroad are a matter of individual will and choice, with no restrictions on cross-border students' mobility, the Ministry of Education responding to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha annexed details which revealed that a rise of 188 percent has been seen in students leaving the country in the past 3 years.

While a total of 2.59 lakh students left the country in the year 2020, the number rose by 80 percent to 4.44 lakhs in 2021 and to 7.5 lakhs in the year 2022. The numbers have been made available by the ministry from data where people disclosed their purpose of visit as Study/Education while going abroad.

However, it will be pertinent to mention that the number of students going out of the country may have been affected by the pandemic that hit the world in 2020.

The numbers further reveal that the most sought-after country to study abroad for students has been the USA, followed closely by Canada with 1.9 lakhs & 1.8 lakh students going to those countries respectively. Countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany have also attracted a considerable number of students from India.

Meanwhile, as the conflict between Ukraine & Russia stretches on, the number of students who go to Ukraine has seen a significant decline. While over 18,000 students had left for the country in 2021, only 2200 went there in 2022, the data reveals.

Responding to the question of what the government has done to retain the ‘bright brains’ of the country, the Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan cited the country’s National Education Policy (NEP), saying that the policy lays emphasis on internationalization of higher education system and promotes India as ‘global study destination’ providing premium education at affordable cost.

Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission has notified the draft regulations for academic collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions to offer twinning, joint degree, and dual degree programmes “to facilitate international collaboration with Foreign Higher Educational Institutions.”

As per announcements made by the Finance Minister in the Budget Proposal 2022-23, world-class foreign universities and institutions have been permitted in the GIFT City, Gujarat (Gujarat International Finance Tech-City) to offer courses in Financial Management, FinTech, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics free from domestic regulations, except those by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to facilitate the availability of high-end human resources for financial services and technology.

“Setting up of such foreign University/ Institutions in GIFT IFSC will help in the retention of the talent pool in the country and facilitate availability of high-end human resources for financial services and technology,” the Ministry of Education responded.