From meager 50,000 Indians going to study abroad in 1999, the numbers have risen to almost 1 mn in 2024. The growth is pegged to be somewhere around 1.5-2 mn students studying abroad in 2025. While its inevitable to become a global citizen in the 21st century, what has caused the advent Why do Indian students study abroad What are the reasons Will it be sustainable Is that brain drain A simple yet informative analysis follows.
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Edvisory at the Choose France Tour organised by French Embassy in India
Here are some of the reasons why Indian students study abroad
Information Era: With growth of internet availability and penetration in the Indian subcontinent, more and more Indians and their families are now aware of international opportunities
Internationalization: With India becoming hub to international organizations, more Indians are now getting global opportunities to travel and explore options beyond the limits
Affordability: While the per capita for the country is still around USD 2700, there is still a massive middle and upper middle class that wants to get that foreign degree, regardless of their reasons and motives
Rankings: While Indian universities are getting global recognition, some of them find place in global rankings like QS, THE, FT as well, the numbers are still meager when compared with international universities
Life standard: Though its debatable, students would want to have a better and seldom higher standard of living as compared to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore when compared against cities like London, Paris, Stockholm.
Options & Competition: While studying abroad in India for most means studying in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, a lot of students and their parents are now exploring options in Europe as well. The European Higher Education system is not just one of the oldest, prestigious but also extremely affordable. I am sure you would have heard of the pro bono education system of countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway where tuition is almost NIL. One excellent example is TU Munich of Germany where Engineering costs almost nothing and you get a degree from a university that ranks almost 100 places above Indias premier Engineering institutions. That said, a huge factor that cant be ignored is the cut-throat competition, more than a million Indian students sit for the prestigious IIT JEE, 200K for IIMs, competing for mere thousands of seats thus leaving very few opportunities for majority of brilliant talent
Job Opportunities: No doubt, getting a job abroad is extremely challenging especially when you have a lottery system in the US for H1B, saturated markets in Canada, UK, and linguistic barriers in continental Europe, still students want to take that bet because commanding a language can be tough but not impossible. I personally believe, a foreign language is a life-long skill as against a 98% in CAT or 720 in GMAT
Settlement opportunities: Most countries offer a 5-7 years pathway to residency which also plays a huge role in attractiveness as tomorrows Indians are travelers, and when it comes to global travel, a foreign passport makes life very easy, especially for those considering a career in Consulting, International business development etc.
Social Security: Many countries offer almost free or extremely affordable social security to international students, employees, as opposed to paying a huge premium in India for healthcare. For eg: France offers one of the finest social security system to international students and thus countries like China, India and others in South Asia, East Asia are seeing a surge in outgoing students to these countries
ROI: Most Indians would want to study at IIMs, IITs and several other elite Indian universities but mere tuition of some of these schools is unaffordable and sometimes beats the cost vs ROI analysis when compared against some of the European universities
Example: Top tier IIMs cost around 25-30 Lakhs INR in tuition and an additional cost of 4-8 lacs for cost of living, exchange programs, thus with an overall investment of 30-40 Lacs, students will have to think twice given the return on investment (at least immediate) is still sub par. A 25 lacs CTC post a 40 lacs MBA will take 5-7 years on average to pay off that education loan.
Article By: Prayag Raj Tripathi, Founder Edvisory.in (Brand of Letude Edvisory Services Pvt. Ltd.)
Summary:
Is it worth studying abroad in 2024
Well, the short answer is YES if you are clear what you want to achieve out of it. If you are looking for a global mindset, international network and accelerated career growth, a foreign education can definitely play a huge role.
Is it worth settling abroad Is India not a great place to study or work anymore
In my personal capacity, I do not agree with this notion. US, Canada, UK were all great opportunities to study, work or probably settle there post their Industrial reforms, that led to a surge in opportunities for international students. The regions are becoming saturated now. While on the other hand, India remains the fastest growing large economy and offers a plethora of opportunities for students to study and find work in India. In the famous words of Indias External Affairs minister, Mr. S Jaishankar, India’s ‘brain drain’ not entirely negative
I have been consulting Indian students for almost 8 years now and I do not paint a rosy picture, people often ask me, Why not Why did you come back Why didnt you settle abroad
I often tell them, there are 3 kinds of Indian students:
Students who want to study abroad and come back immediately for jobs/family business/entrepreneurship
Students who want to study abroad and work for a few years to explore opportunities, get exposure and build an international network before returning home
Students who just want to settle abroad
I associate myself with the 2nd category and I personally believe most students must travel abroad, study abroad and should work abroad as well. Studying Abroad is not just about a fancy degree, fancy city and great life, its about a journey of self exploration, discovering yourself, your potential and making a mark. As the 21st century belongs to India and many other developing countries like Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Vietnam, students would find a better career growth in these regions in the long run than chasing the foreign dream. Studying Abroad must be made mandatory for Indian students (even UPSC officers study abroad for exchange programs but they serve at the very ground level for the betterment of the nation) but settling abroad must be a decision of their own conscience.
Indians studying abroad have given us people like Sundar Pichai & Ratan Tata, who in their own personal capacities have made India proud.
In the end, Id like to mention one simple thing that changed my life and may help you too, Always ask yourself, what do you want to do with your life and why Rest of the questions like where, when, which, how will answer themselves on their own.
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