The Changing Patterns Of India’s Student Migration

India is witnessing a sharp rise in outbound student migration, increasingly driven by self-financed education, with over 13.35 lakh Indian students abroad in 2024 and numbers projected to rise further, raising concerns about debt, underemployment, exploitation, and “brain waste” rather than assured upward mobility.

Current trend of student migration for education

• Student migration is no longer limited to elite universities or fully funded programmes; it is largely self-financed by middle-class households.
• Indian students are spread across 70+ countries, with the U.S. and Canada accounting for ~40%, followed by the U.K., Australia, and Germany.
• Growth is especially visible at the State level, e.g. Kerala, where student migration doubled between 2018 and 2023.
• Many students enrol in lower-tier universities and vocational colleges, often through education agents rather than merit-based pathways.
• Migration is increasingly tied not just to education but to post-study work and permanent residency prospects.

What are the major reasons for it?

• Perceived gaps in domestic higher education quality and capacity, especially for globally recognised degrees.
• Limited availability of well-paid, secure jobs in India, even for degree holders.
• Aspirations for social mobility, global exposure, and permanent residency in OECD countries.
• Aggressive recruitment by overseas colleges and agents, marketing foreign degrees as pathways to migration.
• Cultural and social signalling, where foreign education is seen as a marker of success and status.

What are the key challenges

• Deskilling and underemployment: In the UK, reports suggest only 1 in 4 Indian postgraduates secure a sponsored skilled work visa.
• Debt and reverse remittances: Families spend ₹40–50 lakh per student, often via loans or mortgaging property.
  • Economists describe this as reverse remittance, where Indian households subsidise foreign economies.
• Exploitation in labour markets: Students work in low-wage sectors (care work, delivery, hospitality), often juggling multiple jobs.
  • Some exceed legal work limits, increasing vulnerability to exploitation.
• Policy shocks in host countries: UK’s 2024 restrictions ended the conversion of student visas into care visas, closing a key survival pathway.
• Mental health stress: Rising rents, limited work hours, visa uncertainty, and academic pressure contribute to anxiety and depression.

Way forward

• Regulate education agents through licensing, transparency norms, and penalties for malpractice.
• Mandatory pre-departure counselling on costs, visa rules, realistic job prospects, and institutional quality.
• Bilateral agreements with host countries to ensure accountability of foreign institutions and fair treatment of students.
• Strengthen domestic higher education by improving quality, global recognition, and industry linkage of Indian universities.
• Expand skilled employment opportunities in India, especially for graduates, to reduce migration driven by compulsion.
• Create reliable data and early-warning systems on exploitative colleges, visa risks, and employment outcomes.
• Promote alternatives such as high-quality offshore campuses in India and structured international exchange programmes.

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