Overall, China still leads the race, says a new study.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: India sends the most number of students to the main English-speaking countries for higher studies, outpacing China for the first time, according to a report by a New Delhi-based company.
The main English-speaking countries are identified as the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and account for nearly 85% of outbound student mobility from India, ccording to a report published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and which was first published in the University World News.
However, overall, student numbers from India heading abroad are still behind China – crossing the 300,000 mark in 2014, compared to more than 650,000 from China, says the report published by MM Advisory Services entitled ‘Indian Students Mobility Report 2015: Latest trends from India and globally’.
India is “at the center of action now, just as China has been for the past decade or so”, says Maria Mathai, director of MM Advisory Services, as international student numbers from India grew faster than from China for the first time ever in 2014.
While China saw a growth rate of 8% in student numbers to the five destination countries between 2013 and 2014, for India the increase was just over 10% during the same period – a “significant development” according to the report which brings together statistics from government departments in the main receiving countries, the Institute of International Education in the US, the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD, to examine trends since 2005.
International student numbers from India crossed the 300,000 mark in 2014, with the figure climbing back to its previous high of 2009 before it declined for four years, the report said.
Even the biggest market, the US, grew sharply by 8.1%, the biggest growth for the US since 2005. The US will continue to be the most popular destination for international students in the years to come, the report predicts.
Among destination countries for international students overall, Australia led growth, registering a rise of 12% between 2013 and 2014 compared to increases of 8.1% for the US, and 2.4% in the UK. Most of Australia’s rise was driven by growth in the number of students from India, which jumped 28% compared to 2013, according to the report.
A major change in Canada’s reporting methodology has led to a significant revision in international student numbers to Canada for all previous years – a 30% upward revision in the statistics since 2009. According to the report, this change means that the number of international students to Canada is expected to cross the 400,000 mark when 2014 figures are released, the report said.
Canada has started reporting cumulative figures for international students through the calendar year rather than the end-of-year figures it reported previously. The revised numbers suggest Canada has increased its international numbers at the rate of almost 10% every year for the past five years.
From the Indian student perspective, interest in Canada, which previously attracted less than 10,000 Indian students a year, began to grow when concerns over racially motivated attacks in Australia led to a sharp drop to that destination, the report said.
The US is likely to hold on to its number one position for Indian students heading abroad with the numbers rising again after a hiatus of some five years, the report says.
However, some other countries could enter the top destinations list – Germany is close to attracting 10,000 students from India this year, compared to 3,000-4,000 a decade ago.
Although France last month announced a special two-year residence permit for Indian students graduating from French institutions and work permits for those hired by French companies, it is still only attracting some 2,600 students from the country.