UNESCO report says US remains no. 1 destination, but UK slips to fourth due to stricter visa rules
Australia has gained the second spot as the most preferred destination for higher studies for Indian students, after the number of students going to study in the UK reduced by 4 per cent as compared to last year, a recent UNESCO report reveals.
According to UNSECO’s 2017 rankings, the US continues to be the top choice for students who are looking to study abroad, while the UK has slipped to the third spot and Australia has come up in the rankings.
In 2016, 48 per cent of Indian students pursuing higher education abroad went to the US, while 11 per cent of them went to Australia and 8 per cent went to the UK. One of the main reasons behind the declining number of students going to the UK is the stringent visa norms there. This fact was also mentioned by the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, YK Sinha, who took charge of his post in London in December 2016. He highlighted the sharp contrast between rising Indian student numbers in countries like the US and Australia and even across Europe.
“In the field of education, we have a bit of a problem because the number of Indian students (in the UK), which was 40,000 or so in 2010, has dropped to 19,000. The US, which had 1,04,000 Indian students in 2010, has 1,66,000 today,” Sinha had said.
“I think the UK universities are doing a great job, but I think we need to sort out the issues regarding visas. It is an area that both governments are talking to each other about,” he added.
After the UK, when it comes to the way visa policies in the US are shaping up currently, experts feel that the number of students going to the US will also get affected and Australia is likely to flourish as an option. Given this, institutions from Australia are showing a keen interest in Indian students and educational institutions.
University of Technology (UTS), Sydney, one of the leading institutions in Australia where 1,210 students went in the year 2016, is also expanding its presence in India.
“The number of Indian students coming to Australia has been growing and we want to engage more with Indian students. Students in India are very keen, they know what they want,” says Alex Murphy, managing director, UTS, Insearch.
“With the current situation in the UK and US, we are expecting that Australia will get more students in the future. This is also because we provide a friendly environment to the students, and we acquaint them with the country and its culture before they actually start living and studying there,” he adds.
The other preferred destinations of Indian students include Canada (6 per cent) and the UAE (5 per cent).
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