Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Indians second largest student group in US
JEETHA D'SILVA & YASSIR A PITALWALLA, MUMBAI
ET TEAM
INDIA has surpassed Japan as the second largest source of foreign students in the US and is now second only to China. This is the first time that the number of students from India has exceeded that from Japan.
This year 54,664 students headed to the US from India, just 5,275 behind China which led the growth of international student enrolment, according to a report by the US-based Institute of International Education.
Enrolment from China was up 10 per cent to 59,939, the highest for the third year in a row. Japan, which occupied the second slot, has now slipped to third place.
The impact of this is likely to be felt in the years ahead. Since a large fraction of these students will undoubtedly choose to stay back in the US, it may not be unreasonable to assume that the already substantial Indian presence in leading US companies and banks will only increase.
The IIE report states that the US has seen an increase of over 29 per cent in the number of Indian students enrolled in its institutions. India has recorded the largest growth among the top 20 countries which sends students to the US.
This year's international student enrolment in the US itself has been a record of sorts. The number stands at an impressive 547,867. The 6.4 per cent increase in the number of foreign students is the largest in the past 20 years.
The IIE report states that this continues an upswing in international enrolment that began in 1997, after a four-year period of minimal growth.
International education is increasingly becoming an area of focus in the US. In April last year, a presidential memorandum was issued stating that it was the policy of the federal government to support international education.
The US government is also considering establishing a US international education policy.
At the micro level, the statistics at individual institutes also show an upswing. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Student Statistics Report for 2001-2002 reports that it has 181 students from India, an increase of 6.62 per cent over the previous year's 158. India ranks third among the institute's international students after China and Canada.
These members include international visiting, special and exchange students for both the undergraduation and graduation.
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