Study Abroad: Transformation of Overseas Education for Indians Over the Years

Do you think that the study abroad trend is a recent fever for Indians? Well, we should not forget that nearly a century ago most of our freedom fighters had studied abroad. Thereafter, they brought back to India a new ideology, inclusivity and policies that shaped our national laws. 

Basically, Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and many Indian freedom fighters studied abroad. Also, over the years many filmmakers, novelists, and techies who are now CEOs and at important positions in the foreign political scenario studied abroad to shape exceptional careers.

Famous painters like Amrita Shergill, writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and industrialists like Ratan Tata have also made successful careers after studying abroad. However, where there were only a handful of people studying abroad in the 20th century, now there are millions of Indians studying abroad. 

Why Are More Indians Studying Abroad Now?

The sharing of art and culture has mostly shaped the new numbers in the study abroad journey of students. The art and cinema that portrayed Western culture and fictional characters returning after studying abroad chiefly influenced the Indian youth. They did so by breaking the stereotypes around the exclusivity of this experience. 

Through them, Indians learned how they can broaden their horizons and enhance their career prospects by pursuing education abroad. Three very important factors that surged the number of Indians studying abroad over the past two decades are a) Global exposure b) Quality education, and c) Advanced research resources. 

Changing Numbers of Indians Studying Abroad

COVID-19 brought a sudden a sudden dip in the study-abroad culture but the numbers have soared up even more exponentially after that. Around 7.5 Lakh Indian students enrolled in foreign institutions in 2022. Analysts say that this is a 68% increase from the previous year 2021. 

By the end of 2023, it is expected that nearly 1.5 million Indian students will be studying abroad. This is truly an exponential growth. According to the data accumulated in 2022 itself, the numbers were 5 times up and this year’s data is going to break more records. 

In the Early 2000s, the trend was just taking shape in India, rich Indians were experimenting with the idea and the popular destinations were only the United Kingdom, Canada, the USA and Australia. Nevertheless, now Indians from all economic backgrounds are looking for various destinations such as South Korea, New Zealand, Germany, UAE, Austria and many other countries. 

What else has changed is the facilities and ease of the procedure. The universities abroad are welcoming more students by easing the visa process, entrance examinations and acceptance rates. Moreover, there are many grants, scholarships and loan options now available for the students to finance their education abroad.

Also Read: Study Abroad Predictions: How Many Indian Students Chose to Study Abroad in 2023?

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