The data on student migration to foreign countries reveals the crisis Indian education system has been hit by, with a large flow to students leaving the country for better opportunities aboard. If anything, the situation only shows the tip of the iceberg, as many as 8.94 lakh (894783) students went to pursue their education abroad in 2023, three years after the roll out of the National Education Policy 2020. Furthermore, as of July 20 this year, 3.6 lakh (360588) students have already left the country with more student’s likely to leave by the end of the year as the admission cycles begin anew.
The data provided in the parliament reveals a consistent upward trend in students migrating abroad for educational opportunities since 2016 with the exception of Covid-19 years (2020 and 2021). While the UGC has formally allowed foreign universities to setup their campuses in India, with the Central Government even touting ease of doing business and liberalisation reforms within (higher) educational system, only 2 foreign varsities have set up their campuses in India. These are two Australian Universities, namely, Deakin University and University of Wollongong, who have already set up their campuses in GIFT City, Gujarat.
As per the data provided by the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan about the number of students who migrated to foreign countries for educational purpose, the figure shows that in 2016 a total of 369876 (3.69 lakh) students left the country for higher studies, while in 2017 the number stood at 455072 (4.55 lakh), in 2018 at 518787 (5.18 lakh), in 2019 at 587313 (5.87 lakh), in 2020 at 260363 (2.6 lakh), in 2021 at 445582 (4.45 lakh), in 2022 at 752111 (7.52 lakh), in 2023 at 894783 (8.94 lakh) and in 2024 (till July 20) at 360588 (3.6 lakh). This data was provided on July 29 by Pradhan in response to an unstarred question posed by Lok Sabha MPs Prof. Sougata Ray and Dr. Shashi Tharoor.
Notably, the increase in student immigration comes at the time when more universities and colleges have been established by the government, suggesting a deterioration in quality of education. As per the same parliamentary answer provided by Pradhan on the questions raised by Ray and Tharoor, the response notes that “In order to promote access to inclusive and high quality higher education…The number of Universities has increased to 1,168 in 2021-22 from 760 in 2014-15. The number of colleges has increased to 45,473 in 2021-22 from 38,498 in 2014-15. ii. The total enrolment in Higher Education has increased to nearly 4.33 crore in 2021-22 from 3.42 crore in 2014-15.The female enrolment has increased to 2.07 crore in 2021- 22 from 1.57 crore in 2014-15. iii. We now have 48 Central universities, 23 IITs, 21 IIMs and 25 IIITs as against 40 CUs, 16 IITs, 13 IIMs and 9 IIITs in 2014.”
Furthermore, the government claimed that due to its “transformational” initiatives more Indian Universities/Institutions have been covered under international rankings, which has led to “improvement in the global ranking of our institutions”. It provided the following parameters to suggest the improvement:
“i. The number of Indian HEIs in global top 500 has increased to 11 in 2025 as compared to 7 in 2015 QS World University Rankings.
- Two Indian institutions figure in top 150 of QS ranking
iii. Total number of Indian HEIs in the QS ranking in 2024 is 46 as compared to 9 in 2014
iv. India stands as one of the world’s most rapidly expanding research centers as our research output surged by an impressive 54%, which is more than double of the global average in the QS Subject Rankings 2024. v. India has improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 76th rank in 2014 to 40th rank in 2024.”
The parliamentary QnA on the issue can be found here:
Related:
TISS suspends student for protesting against government, posting on Facebook | SabrangIndia
Delay in scholarships leave Dalit students in hot water | SabrangIndia
TISS authorities ‘targeting’ Adivasis, Dalits: Eviction notice to PhD scholars | SabrangIndia