STATUS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN INDIA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Transcription

1 204 STATUS OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN INDIA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

2 Contents Acknowledgements 3 International Student Mobility in INDIA 4 Indian Students Studying Abroad 5 Foreign Students in INDIA 6 Students from SAARC Region in INDIA 7 Section Foreign Students at the Under Graduate Level 8 Section. Female Enrolment among Foreign Students at the Under Graduate Level 2 Section 2 Foreign Student at the Post Graduate Level 5 Section 2. Female Enrolment among Foreign Students at the Post Graduate Level 7 Section 3 Foreign Students at Doctoral Level 8 List of Figures Conclusion 9 References 2 Figure Percentage enrolments from top ten countries of origin of foreign students in India,200 and Figure 2 Popular subjects among foreign students at the under graduate level, 200 and Figure 3 Percentage of female enrolled in popular subjects at the under graduate level, Figure 4 Popular subjects among foreign students at the post graduate level 5 Figure 5 Percentage of female enrolled in popular subjects at the post graduate level, Figure 6 Distribution of foreign enrolment at the doctoral level by country of origin, List of Tables Table Top ten sources of internationally mobile students worldwide, 995, 2005 and 202 Table 2 Top Ten destinations of Indian students, 2005,2008 and 202 Table 3 Mobile students from the SAARC Region to India, USA, UK and Australia in Table 4 Enrolment by country of origin in popular subjects at the under graduate level, Table 5 State wise foreign enrolment in popular subjects at the under graduate level, Table 6 Contribution of top ten and SAARC countries in popular subjects, 20 2 Table 7 Female enrolment in popular subjects and highest enrolling state by subject, Table 8 Percentage of female foreign enrolment and the proportion at home country, Table 9 Top 3 countries making contribution in enrolment in popular subjects at the postgraduate level, Table 0 State wise highest contribution in enrolment in popular subjects at the postgraduate level,

3 List of Boxes Box Definitions of international (or internationally mobile) students 4 List of Annexures Annex Enrolment of foreign students in major Programmes T Annex 2 Enrolment of foreign students in Ph.D. by country 200 T 5 Annex 3 Enrolment of foreign students in M.A by country 200 T 7 Annex 4 Enrolment of foreign students in MBA by country 200 T Annex 5 Enrolment of foreign students in M.Sc. by country 200 T 3 Annex 6 Enrolment of foreign students in MBBS by country 200 T 5 Annex 7 Enrolment of foreign students in B.Tech. by country 200 T 7 Annex 8 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Science in Nursing by country 200 T 20 Annex 9 Enrolment of foreign students in B.Sc. by country 200 T 2 Annex 0 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Pharmacy by country 200 T 25 Annex Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Engineering by country 200 T 26 Annex 2 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Dental Surgery by country 200 T 28 Annex 3 Enrolment of foreign students in B.Com. by country 200 T 29 Annex 4 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Computer Applications by country 200 T 3 Annex 5 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Business Management by country 200 T 33 Annex 6 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Business Administration by country 200 T 35 Annex 7 Enrolment of foreign students in B.A. by country 200 T 37 Annex 8 Enrolment of foreign students in major Programmes T 4 Annex 9 Enrolment of foreign students in Ph.D. by country 20 2 T 45 Annex 20 Enrolment of foreign students in M.A by country 20 2 T 47 Annex 2 Enrolment of foreign students in MBA by country 20 2 T 5 Annex 22 Enrolment of foreign students in M.Sc. by country 20 2 T 53 Annex 23 Enrolment of foreign students in MBBS by country 20 2 T 55 Annex 24 Enrolment of foreign students in B.Tech. by country 20 2 T 56 Annex 25 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Science in Nursing by country 20 2 T 60 Annex 26 Enrolment of foreign students in B.Sc. by country 20 2 T 6 Annex 27 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Pharmacy by country 20 2 T 65 Annex 28 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Engineering by country 20 2 T 66 Annex 29 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Dental Surgery by country 20 2 T 68 Annex 30 Enrolment of foreign students in B.Com. by country 20 2 T 69 Annex 3 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Computer Applications by country 20 2 T 7 Annex 32 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Business Management by country 20 2 T 73 Annex 33 Enrolment of foreign students in Bachelor of Business Administration by country 20 2 T 75 Annex 34 Enrolment of foreign students in B.A. by country 20 2 T 77

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5 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOBILITY IN INDIA According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the number of internationally mobile students globally has increased to 4.0 million in 202 with a 35 percentage increment from.7 million in 995 (see Box and Table ). China has been the largest contributor of the world s mobile students since 995. India became the second largest contributor since Box : Definitions of international (or internationally mobile) students International (or internationally mobile) students are defined as students who have crossed a national border and moved to another country with the objective of studying. Two operational definitions are used in the international dataset developed by the UIS, the Organization of for Economic Co operation and Development (OECD) and Eurostat: Students who are not usual residents of their country of study i.e. those who have recently moved to the destination (host) country from somewhere else Students who received their prior qualifying education in another country, indicating that they have crossed a border When data on these two definition characteristics are not available, data on foreign students (who are non citizens of the country in which they study) and commonly used as a proxy for international (or internationally mobile) students. Currently, the international dataset does not include students in exchange programs that usually last less than a school year and who fulfils part of the studies at an educational institution abroad but are credited at their home institutions. Source: UNESCO UIS/OECD/Eurostat (203) Table : Top ten sources of internationally mobile students worldwide, 995, 2005 and Country Number Country Number Country Number China 587 China China Republic of Korea India India Japan Republic of Korea Republic of Korea Germany Japan 6429 Germany 7576 Greece 4394 Germany Saudi Arabia Malaysia 459 Turkey France 6246 India United States United States 5833 Turkey France 4977 Malaysia Italy 3655 Morocco Viet Nam Hong Kong 354 Canada Iran (Islamic Republic of) 5549 Total Total Total Source: Wit (2008: 33 34) for 995 and UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) for 2005 and 202 The use of the word internationally mobile students or international students in this section is only for exposition purpose. Hereon, foreign students in India and mobile students will be used interchangeably.

6 INDIAN STUDENTS STUDYING ABROAD In 202, over 89 thousand Indian students were enrolled in higher education institutions abroad. This population accounts for 4.7% of the total internationally mobile students worldwide and is the second largest source of foreign students after China (7.3%). Despite its magnitude, this population represents a small proportion (0.7%) of total higher education enrolment in India (29.8 million). At the same time, India s gross outbound enrolment ratio 2 is of 0.%, which is quite low compared with many other Asian countries, such as China (0.6%), Japan (0.5%), Malaysia (.9%), the Republic of Korea (3.6%), and Sri Lanka (.0%). Indian foreign students are dispersed over 50 countries of the world 3. Out of the 89, 472 Indian foreign students in 202, more than 85% students were concentrated in six countries: the United States (5%), United Kingdom (6%), Australia (6%), Canada (4%), United Arab Emirates (4%) and New Zealand (4%). It is noted that between 2008 and 202, the popularity of Australia as a destination for Indian students has declined. There were 55% fewer students in 202 as compared to 2008 (Table 2). Table 2: Top Ten destinations of Indian students, 2005,2008 and Country Number Country Number Country Number United States United States United States 9720 Australia 2055 Australia United Kingdom 2973 United Kingdom 6685 United Kingdom 2590 Australia 684 United Arab Emirates 6684 Russian Federation 434 Canada 842 Germany 4339 New Zealand 4094 United Arab Emirates 730 Canada 2829 Germany 3257 New Zealand 7248 New Zealand 563 Canada 329 Germany 432 Kazakhstan 003 Ukraine 785 Russian Federation 335 Ukraine 957 Cyprus 076 Ukraine 256 Malaysia Malaysia 065 France 955 WORLDWIDE WORLDWIDE 7688 WORLDWIDE Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 2 Gross outbound enrolment ratio, which is the total number of students from a given country studying abroad, expressed as a percentage of the population of tertiary age in that country. Outbound enrolment ratio is the total number of students from a given country who are studying abroad, expressed as a percentage of total tertiary enrolment in that country. Inbound enrolment ratio is the number of students from abroad studying in a given country as a percentage of total tertiary enrolment in that country. 3 Counted only if number of Indian students in a particular country are more than 0 in 20 5

7 FOREIGN STUDENTS IN INDIA India is gradually emerging as a preferred destination for foreign students, particularly from the South Asian region. The growth in the number of foreign students in India has been impressive. The recent data for 20 2 shows that within a year, India received 5625 more students, an increase of almost 20.43% from the last year 4. In 20, these students came from 53 countries. India is slowly expanding not only in terms of the number of students but also the number countries from which these students come. According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 20 2, Nepal contributed the highest percentage of foreign students in India. Of the total foreign students, nearly 9% were from Nepal, followed by, in descending order, Bhutan, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sudan and Iraq (Figure ). Even though, the share of foreign students from the top ten countries has increased in a year s time, the rise is not uniform. The top ten countries of foreign students in India constitute 62% of the total foreign students in the country. The rise in the number of students from Nepal and Bhutan has been the highest, while the number from United States, China and Iran has declined compared with 200. Out of the total foreign students, 76% came to India for under graduate 5 studies and 8% came for post graduate studies 6. The remaining who came for their Ph.D. 7 studies were from Iran (39%), Iraq (5%). Nepal, which was the highest contributor for students at the under graduate level had only 3% share of its students enrolled at the doctoral level. Interestingly, out of the total 983 foreign students who came to India for higher studies from United States only six were enrolled at the Ph.D. level (Annex 9) Figure : Percentage enrolments from top ten countries of origin of foreign students in India,200 and 20 2 Nepal Afghanistan Iran Bhutan Sudan United States China Iraq Sri Lanka Malaysia Total from top ten sources Source: All India Survey on Higher Education 4 Number of foreign students in 2000 was 6,988. In 20 and 202 the numbers of foreign students were 2753 and 3356 respectively. 5 Under graduate level broadly refers to ISCED 6 first as per ISCED 20 classification 6 Post graduate level broadly refers to ISCED 7 second degree as per ISCED 20classification 7 Ph.D. refers to ISCED Level 8 and students enrolled in Doctor of Philosophy 6

8 STUDENTS FROM SAARC REGION IN INDIA India is gradually emerging as a hub for tertiary education in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 8 (SAARC) region. This chapter is focused on the regional mobility of foreign student in the SAARC region. Table 3 presents mobile students from the SAARC region. It also included the student enrolled in United States, United Kingdom and Australia from SAARC region. The table shows that only in case of Bhutan 7% of their internationally mobile students came to India, however only 2% of the students from Bangladesh came to India. Even though India gets 9% of internationally mobile students from Nepal, almost 60% of the Nepalese students go to the aforementioned countries other than India Table 3: Mobile students from the SAARC Region to India, USA, UK and Australia in 20 2 Country of origin Destination countries % in India % in United States % in United Kingdom % in Australia % in Canada Total % in USA,UK, Australia & Canada % in other countries Total students studying abroad in absolute terms Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Maldives Nepal Pakistan * Sri Lanka Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) *: Insignificant : Zero India is becoming the educational hub in the SAARC region as India has a relatively large higher education system and capacity to absorb students from neighboring countries. 8 The members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka 7

9 SECTION : FOREIGN STUDENTS AT THE UNDER GRADUATE LEVEL This section analyses the major subjects for which students came to India for their under graduate studies. The majority of foreign students come to India for their under graduate studies. In 20 2, India received (77%) foreign students for this level. Out of this majority, the highest number of students at this level came from Nepal. Figure 2 shows that in 20 2, India hosted the highest number of students for Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech), followed by Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts. However in 200, most of the students came to India for Bachelor of Commerce Figure: 2 Popular subjects among foreign students at the under graduate level, 200 and MBBS B.Tech Nursing B.Science B.Pharmacy Engineering Dental Surgery B.Commerce Business Management Business Administration B.Arts Source: All India Survey on Higher Education Table 4shows the total number of countries from which students in a particular subject were enrolled and the country from which the majority came. For instance, India received highest number (92%) of the students in Nursing from Nepal and the remaining were from 23 other countries (Annex 25). However, Afghanistan was the highest contributor for enrolments in commerce (3%) and the remaining students came from 74 other countries (Annex 30). This trend suggests that, India hosted the majority of its foreign students for nursing from Nepal, however in case of commerce the enrolments were more scattered. It is worth highlighting that of the total enrolment in MBBS the majority came from Malaysia (52%), the United States (24%), and Canada (6%) (Annex 23).The patterns shown in Table 4 and Table 5 are not very different from that observed in the data for

10 Table 4: Enrolment by country of origin in popular subjects at the under graduate level, 20 2 Subjects Total number of foreign Students (20 2) Highest three contributing countries by their share in the total enrolment st Country 2 nd Country 3 rd Country Number of countries from which students are enrolled in this stream Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) 223 Malaysia (52%) United States (24%) Canada (6%) 39 Bachelor of Technology 2874 Nepal (40%) Bhutan (2%) Afghanistan (%) 83 Bachelor of Science in Nursing 583 Nepal (92%) Bhutan (2%) United States (2%) 24 Bachelor of Science 989 Bhutan (7%) Sri Lanka (9%) Nepal (8%) 82 Bachelor of Pharmacy 205 Sudan (28%) Iraq (26%) Iran (5%) 4 Bachelor of Engineering 746 Nepal (35%) Mauritius (9%) Sudan (5%) 65 Bachelor of Dental Surgery 085 Malaysia (52%) Iran (24%) United States (5%) 39 Bachelor of Commerce 2582 Afghanistan (3%) Bhutan (2%) Nepal (8%) 75 Bachelor of Computer Applications 92 Sudan (7%) Congo (2%) Bhutan (0%) 62 Bachelor of Business Management 4 Nepal (20%) Tanzania (%) Bhutan (9%) 58 Bachelor of Business Administration 494 Bhutan (22%) Afghanistan (9%) Nepal (9%) 59 Bachelor of Arts 959 Afghanistan (23%) Algeria (3%) Bhutan (0%) 7 Source: All India Survey on Higher Education,

11 Table 5 shows the states of India that had the highest enrolment in a particular field and also the countries that contribute the most to this enrolment. For instance, 93% of the total enrolments in Nursing were in and out of total enrolment Nepalese students made 94% (Annex 25). is by far the most preferred destination for foreign students at the under graduate level in India. Table 5: State wise foreign enrolment in popular subjects at the under graduate level, 20 2 Major Subjects Total number of foreign Students The state that has the highest enrolment % of highest Enrolment of states/uts mentioned in Column C Highest contributing country (in%) in highest enrolled State/UT Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) % Malaysia (79%) Bachelor of Technology 2874 Andhra 32% Nepal (46%) Bachelor of Science in Nursing % Nepal (94%) Bachelor of Science % Bachelor of Pharmacy % Bachelor of Engineering % Nepal (8%) Iraq (3%) Nepal (48%) Bachelor of Dental Surgery % Malaysia (52%) Bachelor of Commerce % Bahrain (8%) Bachelor of Computer Applications 92 6% Congo (8%) Bachelor of Business Management Bachelor of Business Administration 4 93% % Nepal (2%) Afghanistan (27%) Bachelor of Arts % Afghanistan (53%) Source: All India Survey on Higher Education,

12 The figures (Figure and Figure 2) observed the top ten countries from which students came to India (Figure ) and the most popular subjects at the under graduate level among foreign students in India (Figure 2). The next table (Table 6) examines the percentage of students from the top ten countries coming to India for the most popular subjects. The purpose of doing this exercise is to determine whether these subjects are popular because they receive students from these top ten countries or from other than these top ten countries. The table shows that in MBBS, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dental Surgery more than 80 percent of students come from the top ten countries (Annex 23, 25, 27 and 29). At the same time Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Business Management received less than 50 percent of students from these countries (Annex 30 and 32). Table 6: Contribution of top ten and SAARC countries in popular subjects, 20 2 % of enrolment in top subjects at the Bachelor s level MBBS B.Tech Nursing B.Science B.Pharm Engineering Dental B.Com B.M B.Ad B.Arts Surgery Nepal Afghanistan Iran Bhutan * Sudan 0.6 * * United * States China * * * Iraq * 0.2 * * *.3 Sri Lanka * Malaysia * * * * Bangladesh * Maldives * 0.6 * Pakistan * * * Total (%) Source: AISHE (20 2); B.M: Business Management; B.Ad: Business Administration *: Insignificant; : Zero

13 SECTION.: FEMALE ENROLMENT AMONG FOREIGN STUDENTS AT THE UNDER GRADUATE LEVEL Apart from determining how far India is a favorable destination for foreign students, it is important to see the gender composition of foreign enrolment. It is critical to look at this aspect keeping in mind the recent focus around access with gender and socio economic equity. This section analyses the proportion of women in the most popular fields at the under graduate level.figure3 shows women were enrolled in high numbers in Nursing, Dental Surgery and MBBS (Annex 8). In particular, of the total students enrolled in Nursing, 97% were women. Of the total 97% women enrolled in Nursing, 93% are from Nepal (Annex 25) Fig 3: Percentage of women enrolled in popular subjects at the under graduate level, Female(%) Male(%) Nursing Dental Surgery MBBS Arts Business Management Science Business Administration Commerce Pharmacy Computer Application B.Tech Engineering Source: All India Survey on Higher Education, 20 2 Table 7 shows the state that gets the highest female enrolment in the popular subjects. Nursing has the highest female enrolment among foreign students and 93.6% of this enrolment is in the state of. At the same time, Engineering has the lowest female enrolment among foreign students and 47% of this enrolment is in. The table also presents the state with the second highest enrolment of female foreign students in popular subjects. has enrolled highest number of MBBS student and out of total,84 students are female. hosts 58.4% female out of total female enrolment and hosts 2.9% female out of total enrolment in MBBS (Annex 23). 2

14 Table 7: Female enrolment in popular subjects and highest enrolling state by subject, 20 2 Major Subjects Total number of female Students Highest enrolling state and % of female enrolment State with second highest enrolment Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) 84 Bachelor of Technology 445 Bachelor of Science in Nursing 537 Bachelor of Science 74 Bachelor of Pharmacy 533 Bachelor of Engineering 255 Bachelor of Dental Surgery 72 Bachelor of Commerce 828 Bachelor of Computer Applications Bachelor of Business Management Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Arts 85 Source: All India Survey on Higher Education, 20 2 (58.4%) Andhra (35.7%) (93.6%) (34.3%) (7.%) (47%) (65.5%) (29.2%) (56.8) (9%) (3.4%) (2%) (2.9%) Uttar (4.3%) Uttrakhand (.5%) (3.7%) (9.5%) (7.2%) (26.) (22.9%) (9.5%) (7.7%) (26.2%) (8.3%) 3

15 Table 8 tries to compare the enrolment of women at the tertiary level in their home country with the proportion enrolled in India from that country. For all the SAARC countries apart from Pakistan and Afghanistan the percentage of women enrolled in India is considerably lower than the percentage enrolled within the respective countries. Table 8: Percentage of female foreign enrolment and the proportion at home country, 20 2 SAARC Female enrolment as a % of the total foreign students by country of origin % of female enrolled at higher education in the home country Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Maldives * Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka *: Data for Source UIS database accessed in October 204 and AISHE 20 2 Interestingly, though with a thin margin, for students from Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal the percentage of women enrolled in higher education institutions in India is higher than that in their home countries. The proportion of female enrolment at home country seems positively associated with the enrolment of female foreign student in India. 4

16 SECTION 2: FOREIGN STUDENTS AT THE POST GRADUATE LEVEL This section profiles the inflow of foreign students at the post graduate level. In 20 2, India received 5847(23.3%) students for post graduate studies as opposed to (77.27%) students at the under graduate level in India 9. In 20 2, India received foreign students for post graduate level programmes in 49 different fields, among which only three fields Master of Science, Master of Arts and Master of Business Administration has received more than a thousand students (Figure 4). By comparison, Master of Commerce and Master of Technology, the most popular programmes for foreign undergraduate students, received only 277 and 232 foreign students in Master s programmes in Figure 4: Popular subjects among foreign students at the post raduate level Year 200 Year Master of Science Master of Arts MBA Source: All India Survey on Higher Education As per AISHE 20 2, among foreign students enrolled in Master of Science programmes, 24% of them (the highest) come from Iraq (Annex 22). Table 9 shows that the majority of students at the post graduate level were from Iran and Iraq. The table also shows that in Master of Arts, India received students from 95 countries of the world (Annex 20). 9 Out of total foreign students 3% are at the Ph. D. level and other 3% are at the different levels 5

17 Table 9: Top 3 making contribution in enrolment in popular subjects at the post graduate level, 20 2 Number of countries Total from which students Subjects number of Highest three contributing countries by are enrolled in this foreign their shares stream Students (20 2) st Country 2 nd Country 3 rd Country Master of Science 483 Iraq (24%) Iran (3%) Nepal (0%) 6 Master of Arts 424 Iraq (7%) Iran (4%) Afghanistan (7%) 95 Master of Business Administration 84 Nepal (25%) United Arab Emirates (9%) Afghanistan (5%) 77 Source: All India Survey on Higher Education, 20 2 As opposed to being a favorite destination at the under graduate level, happens to be equally popular at the post graduate level (Table 0). gets 26% of the total enrolment in Master of Science and 27% of the foreign students enrolled in this subject are from Iran (Annex 8 and 22). Table 0: State wise hightes contribution in enrolment in popular subjects at the post graduate level, 20 2 Major Subjects Total number of foreign Students The state/ut that has the highest enrolment % of highest Enrolment of states/uts mentioned in Column C Highest contributing country (in%) in highest enrolled State/UT A B C D E Master of Science % Master of Arts % Iran (27%) Iraq (46%) Master of Business Administration 84 3% Nepal (26%) Source: All India Survey on Higher Education,

18 SECTION 2.: FEMALE ENROLMENT AMONG FOREIGN STUDENTS AT THE POST GRADUATE LEVEL Despite the improved access to higher education, proportionately less women move up the education ladder. A recent report on higher education in Asia points out that at the Bachelor s level the enrolment of women accounts for 47% and it declines to 37% at the doctoral level 0. In view of this pyramidal trend in female enrolment in higher education, this section examines the proportion of female in the most popular fields at the post graduate level. Figure 5 shows that more men than women were enrolled in popular subjects at the post graduate level. Of the total foreign students enrolled from Afghanistan and Nepal, 2% and42% were women respectively. Table 7 showed that there could be some relation between female enrolments from a given country in India with that in the home country. 20 Figure 5: Percentage of female enrolled in popular subjects at the post graduate level, Female (%) Male (%) 20 0 Master of Science Master of Arts MBA Source: All India Survey on Higher Education, Higher Education in Asia: Expanding Out, Expanding Up ( UNESCO, 204) 7

19 SECTION 3: FOREIGN STUDENTS AT DOCTORAL LEVEL Many cross country studies demonstrate a virtuous circle in which Research &Development (R&D) spending, innovation, productivity and national growth and development mutually reinforce each other. The quantity and quality of research undertaken in a country could be a factor that contributes to higher enrolments at the Doctoral level. This section profiles the enrolment status of foreign students in India at the Doctoral level. In 20 2, India received 920 students for Ph.D. (Annex 9). In comparison to under graduate and post graduate foreign students, India still has few foreign students at the doctoral level and receives majority of students from Iran, Thailand, Myanmar, Yemen, Ethiopia and Iraq. Figure 6: Distribution of foreign enrolment at the doctoral level by country of origin, % 6% 6% 39% 5% 5% 5% IRAQ ETHIOPIA YEMEN MYANMAR THAILAND OTHERS IRAN Out of the 920 foreign students enrolled in Ph.D. programmes in 20 2, 293 (32%) were women. The majority of foreign Ph.D. students were enrolled in (25%), followed by Delhi (23%) (Annex 8 and 9).As mentioned earlier, Iran contributes the highest to the enrolment and out of the total, 36 students were from Iran of which 45 % were women (Annex 8 and 9). Source: All India Survey on Higher Education, 20 2 Higher Education in Asia: Expanding Out, Expanding Up (UNESCO, 204) 8

20 CONCLUSION The globalization of higher education has been a phenomenon since the colonial period 2. Since education is regarded as a right at the elementary level, the later stages of learning need to prepare themselves for the increasing demand in the future. There are multiple reasons why focusing on enrolment of foreign students in India is important. First, foreign students not only bring financial contribution to the country but also bring their socio cultural values. They help creating harmony between countries. The mobility of students is expected to grow in the coming years especially for South Asian region. The increasing number of foreign students in India indicates the quality of education that some universities are offering is better than the neighboring countries. There are many reasons why students pursue their higher education abroad. For some, it is a chance to broaden cultural and intellectual horizons. Others go abroad to avoid frustrations of under resourced universities. Many have no choice but to go abroad in order to pursue a particular field of education or type of academic programme (UNESCO 203: P 80) In an era where academic mobility is gaining popularity among students from all regions, it is crucial for institutions to recognize and prepare themselves to attract talented and self funded students. The level of attractiveness to mobile students depends largely on the quality of education that universities provide. It also depends on other external and internal factors, such as availability of decent facilities, possible job opportunities, language, security, socio economic commonalities etc. Foreign students have bright employment prospects in China after graduation and many international graduates chose to work in China in recent years because of more job opportunities in China s labor market (UNESCO 203: P 20) In view of the criticality of higher education, this paper presents a statistical profile of foreign students who come to India for their tertiary education. India emerged as a popular destination for students from South Asia. In particular, majority of the students were enrolled at the under graduate level in disciplines from medicine, technology and arts. Female enrolment at the under graduate level was predominately in healthcare related disciplines. As we progress to higher levels of tertiary education, the enrolments drastically drop. At the post graduate level Master of Science, Master of Arts and Master of Business Administration were the only subjects to get substantial foreign enrolments. The paper presents disaggregated information about the state with the highest enrolment and the country from which highest number of students were enrolled in a subject. emerged as a popular destination for students at the under graduate level and at the post graduate level. 2 Globalization of higher education and cross border student mobility (UNESCO & IIEP, 2008) 9