Indian students - journey ends in debt, underemployment or forced return
The rapid expansion of Indian student migration points to contradictions between aspiration and outcome, and opportunity and exploitation
- In Ministry of External Affairs data
- PLACE IN THE WORD
- Real picture of education of students
- unregulated expansion of the foreign education industry
- The outcome
- Money
- Picture of Student migration from India
- MUCH MORE WHAT THEY FACE ?
What is the Current Scenario?
- Currently, 7,70,000 Indian students are studying abroad from 4,40,000 in 2016 which is a 20% growth. On the other hand, the growth in the domestic region has been merely 3% when compared to the demand for education abroad,
- India is the second largest source of international students after China. Before the onset of the pandemic, the Indian students studying abroad were spending $24 billion in foreign economies, which is around 1% of India’s GDP.
- The number is expected to rise to around 1.8 million by 2024 when the Indian students will be spending nearly $80 billion outside India.
- To pursue a medical degree, Indian students have been heading out to Russia, China, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and the Philippines for about three decades now.
India’s latest wave of student migration
. In Ministry of External Affairs data
more than
- 13.2 lakh Indian students were enrolled in over 70 countries by 2023,
- which rose to 13.35 lakh in 2024,
- projected to reach 13.8 lakh in 2025.
PLACE IN THE WORD
As a Sender -
India is one of the top senders of international students,
As Destination -
United States and Canada as the top destinations (40%), followed by the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.
This significant development is reflected in the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of Indian Diaspora (2022) which engages with students as one of India’s major diaspora categories.
The true picture
Real picture of education of students
Many of these students are channelled into
- lower-tier institutions and vocational colleges,
- into courses often unrelated to their expertise and
- without much job prospects,
- due to recruitment agencies that operate in a grey legal zone.
unregulated expansion of the foreign education industry
The
- partnership between recruitment networks and college
- less credible private colleges abroad
- College is driven primarily by commissions and profit, reflecting the largely unregulated expansion of the foreign education industry.
The outcome
is widespread
- deskilling and underemployment,
- with many graduates unable to transition into skilled work.
what were once polytechnics have become universities post 1992 that cater primarily to international students,
sometimes waiving entry requirements and controversy due to declining academic standards.
Reports suggest that approximately only one in four Indian postgraduates in the U.K. secures a sponsored skilled visa.
Picture of Student migration from India
Kerala
historically defined by Gulf labour migration,
Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2023
reports that student migration doubled in five years, from 1.29 lakh in 2018 to 2.5 lakh in 2023, which is 11.3% of total emigrants.
Outward student remittances
from Kerala are estimated at ₹43,378 crore, equivalent to about 20% of total inward remittances from labour migrants.
Reverse remittance
Money
Most students migrate through
- self-financing or
- education loans,
- mortgaging family property - with the hope of better employment and higher wages that would repay debts and enable higher living standards.
Profit to host economies
In Canada, international students contributed about
- $30.9 billion to GDP in 2022,
- supporting over 3,61,000 jobs.
- In 2023, Canada hosted over 4,27,000 Indian students, which is roughly 45% of international enrolments.
roughly 4,00,000 Indian students, in 2024, spent an estimated
$7 billion-$8 billion annually on
- tuition,
- housing
- living costs, sustaining universities and local economies.
\MUCH MORE WHAT THEY FACE ?
₹40 lakh-₹50 lakh
students shoulder substantial financial burdens, sometimes to the tune of ₹40 lakh-₹50 lakh,
to finance studies abroad.
AND ALSO
Rising rents, restricted working hours, and visa caps exacerbate financial and mental strains.
Unable to find
- skilled work,
- low-wage unskilled jobs,
- multiple part-time jobs
- undocumented, to work longer hours, and facing exploitation.
- Restrictive visa rules,
- limited post-study employment options
- a lack of placement support from low-ranked colleges exacerbate this downward mobility.
converted student visas into care visas
For instance, until 2024, the U.K. allowed students to convert student visas into care visas, offering a survival route in a tight job market, but this pathway has since become impossible due to new restrictions.
The local context
WHAT IS THE REASON ?
lack of quality in domestic institutions or an inability to find well-paid domestic employment?
With foreign univesity
establishing offshore campuses
in Dubai, Singapore, and other destinations offering western degrees at lower costs, it is telling that Indian students rarely choose them. The reason is more structural.
For many, studying in OECD countries is not only about education but about
- permanent residency,
- social mobility
- escape from a third world identity.
cheap labour for OECD countries
Ironically, this wave of student migration has also created a new form of cheap labour for OECD countries,
akin to Gulf labour migration except that it is now accompanied by reverse remittances often financed through savings and debt.
calls for
stronger regulation of education agents, pre-departure counselling, and bilateral frameworks to ensure institutional accountability abroad.
Source the hindu
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