Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Lok Sabha that 894,783 students went abroad for higher education last year. Prof. Sougata Ray and Dr. Shashi Tharoor asked about the rise in Indian students studying abroad, its impact on India’s economy and brain drain, and government measures to address it. They also sought details on the increasing migration of Kerala students for higher education.
"Studies abroad are a matter of individual will and choice. Moreover, there are no restrictions on cross-border student mobility, which is contingent on a variety of factors such as affordability, access to bank loans, exposure to foreign societies, aptitude for the particular branch of studies etc. The purpose of Indians going abroad for higher education is captured manually based either on their verbal disclosure at the time of immigration clearance or the type of visa obtained for the destination country,'' Dharmendra Pradhan replied to the questions of opposition MPs.
Number Of Students Who Went Abroad For Studies Each Year
The number of students who went abroad for higher education each year is given below:
| Year | Number of Students |
| 2016 | 369,876 |
| 2017 | 455,072 |
| 2018 | 518,787 |
| 2019 | 587,313 |
| 2020 | 260,363 |
| 2021 | 445,582 |
| 2022 | 752,111 |
| 2023 | 894,783 |
| 2024 (as of 20.07.2024) | 360,588 |
Steps Taken By Govt To Improve Education Quality
To enhance education quality, the government has implemented several measures:
- National Credit Framework (NCF): Integrates the National Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF) and National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) to offer flexible subject combinations, multiple pathways, and improved student mobility.
- Academic Bank of Credits (ABC): Facilitates credit recognition across Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), promoting a multidisciplinary and flexible learning approach with multiple entry and exit points.
- Foreign University Campuses: Regulations now allow world-class foreign universities to set up campuses in Gujarat's GIFT City, with institutions like Deakin University and the University of Wollongong already operational, offering courses in fields such as Financial Management and STEM.
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- Institutions Growth: The number of universities rose from 760 in 2014-15 to 1,168 in 2021-22, and colleges increased from 38,498 to 45,473 in the same period.
- Key Institutions Expansion: There are now 48 Central Universities (up from 40), 23 IITs (up from 16), 21 IIMs (up from 13), and 25 IIITs (up from 9) compared to 2014.
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