Decline in Foreign Students Coming to India for Education, Reveals All India Higher Education Survey
Pune, 31st January 2024: The Ministry of Education (India) has released the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report for the academic year 2021-22, revealing a decline in the number of foreign students coming to India for education. In contrast to the increasing trend of Indian students pursuing education abroad, the data indicates a decrease in international students enrolling in Indian educational institutions.
According to the report, in the academic year 2020-21, 48,035 foreign students were admission in Indian educational institutions. However, in 2021-22, this number decreased to 46,878. The survey involved 1,162 universities, 42,825 colleges, and 10,576 single institutions across the country.
The overall number of students in higher education in India has seen an increase, reaching 4.33 crore in 2021-22 compared to 4.14 crore in the previous academic year. The enrollment ratio in higher education also rose from 27.3 in 2020-21 to 28.4 in 2021-22.
Out of the foreign students enrolled, 74.8 % were admission in undergraduate courses, while 15.8 % opted for postgraduate courses. Nepal accounted for the largest percentage of foreign students (28 %), followed by Afghanistan (6.7 %), America (6.2 %), Bangladesh (5.6 %), United Arab Emirates (4.9 %), and Bhutan (3.3 %).
In terms of engineering courses, computer engineering witnessed the highest enrollment, with 12.9 lakh students, followed by electronics engineering (6 lakh), mechanical engineering (5.74 lakh), and civil engineering (4.64 lakh). The overall admissions in Engineering and Technology at undergraduate, postgraduate, M-Phil, and PhD levels totaled 41,31,303 students. This marked a 5 % increase compared to the previous academic year.
The survey also highlighted that 71 lakh students in the country are studying in government universities and higher education institutions, while 2.5 lakh students are enrolled in private universities, indicating a preference for government institutions among students.
