Foreign degrees lose lure for Indians

Students reconsider overseas education choices; domestic campuses gain ground

- Simple Vishwakarma

The long-held aspiration of an overseas degree is losing some of its sheen for Indian students. Official figures placed before Parliament show a steady fall in the number leaving the country for higher education over the past three years, suggesting a recalibration of ambition shaped by cost, policy and changing opportunities at home.

Data from the Ministry of Education indicate that 9.08 lakh Indians went abroad to study in 2023. The figure slipped to 77 lakh in 2024 and declined further to 6.26 lakh in 2025. The statistics, collated by the Bureau of Immigration under the Union Home Ministry, were tabled in the Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, in response to a written parliamentary question.

Seeking to temper alarm, the minister observed that the choice to study overseas remained one of “individual will and preference’, shaped by affordability, access to loans, exposure to foreign societies and interest in specialised disciplines. He also argued that, in a global knowledge economy, a skilled diaspora continued to be an asset for India, capable of contributing expertise and networks back home.