For decades, the story of Indian higher education has been shaped as much by what happens beyond the country’s borders as by what unfolds within its classrooms. Studying abroad has come to symbolise aspiration, mobility and success, often accompanied by immense family sacrifice. From middle-class households stretching finances to pay overseas tuition to record-breaking visa numbers, sending children abroad has become a benchmark of educational achievement. However, this outward flow masks an uncomfortable reality: while India is one of the world’s largest exporters of students, it remains a weak magnet for global talent.
A close look at the numbers reveals that this imbalance is not just stark but also persistent. According to the latest Niti Aayog report, for every international student who chose to study in India in 2021, around 25 Indian students went abroad. That year alone, outbound numbers climbed to 11.5 lakh, while inbound enrolments hovered at 45-50,000. In fact, student mobility data between 2016 and 2022 shows little structural change in incoming numbers, even as outbound figures steadily increased. In 2019, for instance, a relatively normal pre-pandemic year, 6.75 lakh Indian students left to study overseas, while only slightly above 47,000 international students arrived in India.
It’s a troubling paradox. India’s place in the global education landscape clearly exposes the imbalance. For all its population size, English-language advantage and academic heritage, the country attracts under one percent of the world’s internationally mobile students. Quite worryingly, this places India far behind major destinations such as the US, the UK, Australia and China. These countries fare much better, not simply because they have strong universities, but also because they have coherent strategies that actively position higher education as a global service sector.
Besides, the destinations Indian students are choosing are revealing. They are concentrated in a small group of countries, led by Canada and the US, followed by the UK, Australia and Germany. This points to a clear pattern. Students are not simply chasing academic prestige; they are responding to education systems that offer international recognition, predictable academic pathways, and post-study work and migration opportunities.
India, by contrast, has struggled to present a compelling global proposition. Its internationally ranked universities remain limited in number and concentrated in elite clusters. Curriculums often do not align smoothly with international credit systems or interdisciplinary frameworks. Institutional processes can be painfully slow and even fragmented. The result is obvious. Global branding remains weak, with Indian universities largely absent from international recruitment platforms. To make things worse, student support systems such as housing, career counselling and integration services are uneven and underdeveloped in most institutions. Above all, internationalisation has rarely been treated as a central mission—often remaining peripheral, symbolic or episodic.
The consequences of this imbalance are not merely symbolic. Every Indian student studying abroad represents a financial outflow of tuition fees, living expenses and long-term economic contributions. Host countries gain not only in revenue but also through greater campus diversity, stronger research capacity and workforce participation. International students also bring cultural and intellectual exchange that enriches academic ecosystems. India’s failure to attract such students at scale means forfeiting these benefits while reinforcing its image as a source of talent rather than a destination for learning.
Let’s also not forget the deeper cost that we are forced to pay because of this lacuna. Ironically, that is something not many wish to talk about. Campuses that remain largely inward-looking risk intellectual insularity, especially at a time when knowledge production is increasingly global. Today, exposure to diverse perspectives, academic cultures and research practices is no longer optional; it’s central to competitiveness. And, without international students, Indian universities will struggle to fully integrate into global academic networks.
Of course, none of this is irrevocable. India has the scale, linguistic accessibility and intellectual resources to reposition itself as a higher education hub. Recent policy reforms, including those linked to the National Education Policy and opening up to foreign universities to operate in India, point in the right direction. Projections suggest that with sustained and coordinated reforms, India can attract 3-11 lakh international students by 2047. But incremental change will not be enough. Internationalisation demands strategic investment in infrastructure, regulatory clarity, curriculum innovation and global outreach. It requires treating international students not as an afterthought but as an integral part of the future of Indian higher education.
In short, in an era of global talent mobility, India cannot afford to remain inward-looking. Either the country continues to excel at exporting students while remaining largely invisible on the global student map, or it commits to building universities that attract learners from around the world. How India responds will shape not only its education system but also its place in the global knowledge economy for decades to come.
John J Kennedy | Former Professor and Dean, Christ (Deemed) University, Bengaluru
(Views are personal)