Even as Indian students make a beeline for foreign universities, the number of foreign students coming to India for higher studies is yet to make a proportional leap.
According to Bureau of Immigration (BoI) statistics, only 40,431 foreign students came to India in 2023 for higher studies, while the number of Indian students who went abroad for studies was 7.65 lakh (up to October 2023). In 2022, the number of foreign students who reached India was 31,910 and 22,159 in 2021.
The number of Indian students who went abroad was 7.50 lakh in 2022 and 4.44 lakh in 2021. Speaking to The Hindu, Sabu Joseph, Director, Centre for Global Academics at Kerala University, says there has been an uptick in foreign students visiting India, especially south India, in recent times. However, their numbers cannot be equated or compared with the number of Indian students who go abroad for higher studies. Last academic year, there were around 160 foreign students at Kerala University, with the majority from African countries.
