Indian students outnumber China in foreign education 

India has left China behind in terms of growth rate in the number of students studying in foreign countries.  In 2014, India sent less than half the number of students that China sent abroad for further studies. After 2009, India’s growth for the first time reached a rate of 10 per cent.

According to “Indian Students Mobility Report 2015: Latest trends from India and globally” prepared by New Delhi-based MM Advisory Services, India saw a growth rate of 10 per cent while China had 8 per cent growth rate in students pursuing studies in five major English-speaking countries in 2014. These five countries — the United States, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — account for almost 85 per cent of the total outbound strength. China, India and South Korea make up nearly 50 per cent of total international students to these countries.

In 2009, almost 3 lakh students from India went abroad for studies but the number dropped to 2 lakh students in 2013. In 2014, the number of Indian students going abroad for studies crossed 3 lakh but the number of Chinese students was 6.5 lakh.

The report was prepared using data from government departments in various 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 to examine trends since 2005.

It may be mentioned that Indian students spend $7 billion or around Rs. 45,000 crore per year on foreign education because of “sub-standard” quality of higher education in the country, according to a study by industry body Assocham and Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The study was made public a day after the prestigious Times Higher Education ranking revealed that none of India’s universities could make it to the list of “100 most prestigious global universities”.