Table of Contents

INTERNATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION

International Students at Indian Universities

Veena Bhalla
Veena Bhalla is on the staff of the Association of Indian Universities. Address: 16, Comrade Indrajit Gupta Marg. New Delhi 110 002, India. E-mail: aiusis@yahoo.co.in.

Transnational movement of students is obviously the most visible and, perhaps, most significant manifestation of the internationalization of higher education. Since the early 1990s the number of students crossing their national borders for acquiring knowledge and skills has steadily increased. The number of students entering developed countries has shown a considerable rise. Unfortunately, this has not happened in the case of India, which has the third-largest higher education system in the world and, therefore, is a potential exporter or provider of education, at least to the Third World.

Presently, international students from about 125 countries are pursuing various undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programs in India at recognized universities and institutions. The countries that provide the international students can be grouped into two categories: first, developed countries that are technologically advanced and economically strong, and have good facilities for higher education and training (e.g., the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, countries of the European Union, and Japan); and second, the less-developed and developing countries that have limited facilities for education—not only in the professional fields such as engineering, medicine, and management—but also in science, humanities, social sciences, commerce, and law.

Data collected by the Association of Indian Universities over the period 1992–1993 to 2003–2004 suggest the number of international students coming to India steadily increased during the first half of the 1990s, with a peak of over 13,000 being achieved in 1993–1994. Subsequently there was a steady decrease, with a marked fall occurring in 1996–1997; by the end of the millennium the number had halved. This trend was probably due to the fact that while many developed countries, and especially the United Kingdom and Australia, were aggressively marketing their educational ware, India was inactive in this regard. However, the number of international students increased during 2001–2002, after India adopted a more positive approach, possibly suggesting a reversal of the trend.

More than 95 percent of international students in India come from the developing countries of Asia and Africa. The countries that sent the most students in 2003–2004 are Malaysia, Nepal, Iran, and Kenya (about 500 each), followed by Mauritius, Sri Lanka, the United States, and Ethiopia (over 300 each). Significantly during 2003-2004 there has been an increase in the number of students from East Asia, the Middle East, South and Central Asia, Southeast Asia, northern Europe, and North America. The largest number of students are from South and Central Asia (2,102) followed by East Africa (1,465). The countries that sent increased numbers of students in 2003–2004 include Behrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sudan, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Canada, and the United States.

The same period (2003–2004) has seen a decrease in the number of students from North Korea, Syria, Yemen, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. In the same year, the largest number of students came from Malaysia (806). In 2003–2004, the largest number attended the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (2,031), followed by the University of Pune (1,416) and the University of Delhi (1,077).

International students prefer to join educational institutions located in the metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Pune. They join colleges located in smaller towns only for professional programs. As is to be expected, the international student population in India is not equally distributed over the country or in the various disciplines. Students prefer the western (especially Maharashtra) and southern parts of India. This is due to more congenial social and cultural environments.

To make Indian universities more attractive to international students will require a variety of improvements. Indian universities must take steps to provide better infrastructure and facilities to international students. The country’s academic structure needs to “internationalize” the curricula and become more flexible. The University Grants Commission is promoting the export of education through its Committee for the Promotion of Indian Higher Education Abroad. Significantly, at this point the private universities and colleges are the ones making efforts to attract students by providing good infrastructure and other facilities.

[Online] Available: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/Number41/p3_Bhalla.htm