By Rudra Narayan Sahoo, Mumbai: India is a major sourcing country in sending a large number of students to global education market. However, in attracting foreign students to its education system, India’s performance is encouraging.
The total number of foreign national students enrolled in India for 2015-16 saw a 7% rise. The number of foreign students enrolled in 2015-16 was 45,424 compared to 42,293 in 2014-15. In 2013-14, a total number of 39,517 foreign students were enrolled in various educational institutes in India. Over the last few years, the presence of overseas student is rising.
Among states, Karnataka has emerged as the hub of international students as it alone represents nearly one-third of total foreign students enrolled in India. A total number of 14,348 foreign students were enrolled in Karnataka in 2015-16, as per the All India Survey on Higher Education 2015-16 (AISHE) final report of Ministry of HRD.
Another southern state Tamil Nadu stood second place in attracting overseas students (5,377) for 2015-16. Maharashtra emerged as the third place with 4,649 international students while Uttar Pradesh featured in the fourth spot (3,407).
Telangana at fifth place saw 3,032 number of foreign students for 2015-16. Punjab (2,459), Delhi (2,063) and Andhra Pradesh (1,785) were among top states in attracting foreign students. Haryana and Gujarat with 1,321 and 1,055 international students found ninth and tenth places, respectively in attracting international students among states in India.
List of Top Ten states in foreign students enrolment for 2015-16:
- Karnataka (14,348)
- Tamil Nadu stood (5,377)
- Maharashtra (4,649)
- Uttar Pradesh (3,407)
- Telangana (3,032)
- Punjab (2,459)
- Delhi (2,063)
- Andhra Pradesh (1,785)
- Haryana (1,321)
- Gujarat (1,055)
Meanwhile, the foreign students come from 165 different countries from all across the globe. The top These 10 countries constitute 62 % of the total foreign students enrolled. Highest share of students came from the neighboring countries of which Nepal is 21% of the total, followed by Afghanistan 10%, Bhutan 6%, Nigeria 5%, Sudan 5%, and Malaysia 4% for 2015-16.
