Around 90 percent of Indian parents out of the 11,000 affluent global respondents surveyed for the HSBC Quality of Life Report 2024, prefer to spend on their children's overseas education rather than keeping their money in the retirement plans. This is despite the fact that the foreign education of their children cost more than 64% of their retirement corpus.
In 2023, as many as 1.3 million Indian students were studying abroad, a significant increase from the 9,07,404 students in 2022, making the country second largest source of international students after China. And, over 2 million Indian students are expected to pursue education abroad by 2025.
The HSBC study also found that 78 percent of Indian parents aspire to or have their children pursue higher education at foreign universities, despite the current challenges where many of these students struggle to find suitable jobs.
In 2016, only 3,69,876 students went abroad for studies. 8,94,783 students in 2023 and as many as 3,60,588 students till July 2024 have taken admissions.
Almost 58 percent of the survey respondents are willing to work even post their retirement to pay off education loans, 40 percent are expecting their child to take on student loans, and 51percent are hopeful that their child will secure scholarships. However, 27 percent would even consider selling their assets to fund their child’s education.
Only 40 percent have plans to save for their children’s education, says the study.
There have been many reports from Indians studying in popular education destinations Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand, about the struggles they faced during and after their studies. Indian graduates in Canada complained about the severity of the job market crisis in the country.
While student intakes have gone up manifold in foreign universities, the markets are unable to give them jobs suited to their professional qualification. Graduates are forced to take up any job available; many work as security guards, delivery boys, fuel pump attendants or suppliers in eateries and departmental stores. Graduates are pushed into deep depression and often fall prey to alcohol and drug abuse, the reports revealed.
