Nepal sends maximum foreign students to India; Karnataka top pick among foreigners: MoE

NEW DELHI: Nepal continues to send the largest number of students to India while Karnataka is the top destination receiving maximum foreign students, according to a Ministry of Education survey. The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2023-24 noted that India's higher education institutions attracted students from 173 countries in the 2023-24 academic year, with 58,134 foreign students enrolled across universities and colleges in the country.

The AISHE collects detailed information from higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country through a web-based data capture format (DCF). Institutions upload data on student enrolment, faculty and staff, infrastructure, examination results, etc., on the AISHE portal.

The survey serves as the primary source of official statistics on higher education in India, providing critical insights for policy formulation, planning and monitoring of the sector. In 2023-24, the highest share of foreign students came from Nepal (24.1 per cent), followed by the UAE (7 per cent), the US (5.9 per cent), Bangladesh (5.9 per cent), Nigeria (5.5 per cent) and Zimbabwe (4 per cent).

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Top 10 countries with 63.8% foreign students

The top 10 countries constituted 63.8 per cent of the total foreign students in 2023-24. According to the report, Karnataka emerged as the top destination for international students, with 7,914 foreigners enrolled in its HEIs, narrowly ahead of Punjab (7,902). Maharashtra (6,190), Uttar Pradesh (5,953) and Tamil Nadu (5,694) completed the top five list of hosting foreign students.

The highest number of foreign students were enrolled in undergraduate courses at 73.6 per cent, followed by post-graduate programmes at 16.8 per cent.

A total of 42,779 students were pursuing undergraduate programmes, accounting for nearly 74 per cent of the total. Of these, 27,849 were men and 14,930 women. Another 9,845 students were enrolled in postgraduate programmes, while comparatively smaller numbers pursued diploma, PhD, certificate and integrated courses.

Also read AISHE 2023-24 Report: Higher education GER touches 30%, higher among women; enrolment rises to 4.50 crore

AISHE: Foreign student enrolments rose

Foreign student enrolments rose from 48,898 in 2019-20 to 58,134 in 2023-24, an increase of 9,236 students, or 18.9 per cent, over five years.

The growth was driven by both men and women students. While male enrolments increased from 32,386 to 37,295, the number of women students rose from 16,512 to 20,839 during the same period.

India also received foreign students from Lebanon, Burkina Faso, Mongolia, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Chile, among others, in the 2023-24 academic year. The Ministry of Education had launched the Study in India (SII) programme in 2018 with an aim to attract international students to pursue higher education in India.