International Migration of Students
International or cross-border flow of students and scholars existed since historical times but the process of globalization has accelerated migration of students particularly from developing and Sub-Saharan countries to developed countries. The migration of students has provided a global marketplace to the host countries. According to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), students from Sub-Saharan Africa are the most mobile; about 7% are studying in overseas universities while only 0.40% students in North America (the US, Canada and Mexico) go overseas for higher education. Major share of international flow of students is from developing countries, particularly from India, due to push and pull factor
Fig 1: Global Destinations for International Students at the Post-Secondary(Tertiary) Level,2008
Source: http://www.atlas.iienetwork.org/
The impact of globalization on education has increased the size of the global market for higher education. Consequently, many countries are trying to open up markets for foreign students by emphasis on attracting more foreign students, and maximizing the market potential of foreign study. Flow of students to foreign universities may have economic implications in future and India & China may be major education markets for foreign study. Consequently, thousands of students from India are looking towards the US, Europe and Australia for higher studies, though very few students from these regions are coming to Asia. USA has been the favorite destination for foreign students followed by UK, France, Germany, China, Australia, and Japan as shown in Figure 1.
However, of late, USA’s share has been in decline. Despite this US, European Union and Australia host nearly 81 percent of all foreign students. India, China, Republic of South Korea, Japan and Canada are the top five countries contributing the largest share of students enrolling in USA, Australia, UK and Canada (See Table-1).
Table 1a: Flow of students to different countries
Source Country |
USA |
Source Country |
Australia
|
||||
2003 |
2004 |
Change % |
2003 |
2004 |
Change % |
||
India |
74,603 |
79736 |
7 |
China |
22548 |
30041 |
33 |
China |
64757 |
61765 |
-5 |
India |
12307 |
17870 |
45 |
South Korea |
51519 |
52484 |
2 |
Malaysia |
15448 |
15909 |
3 |
Japan |
45960 |
40835 |
-11 |
Hong Kong |
10183 |
11000 |
8 |
Canada |
26513 |
27017 |
2 |
Indonesia |
11391 |
10587 |
-7 |
All |
586323 |
572509 |
-2 |
All |
136125 |
151798 |
12 |
Source: http://aei.dest.gov.au/
Table 1b: Flow of students to different countries
Source Country |
UK
|
Source Country |
Canada
|
||||
2003 |
2004 |
Change % |
2003 |
2004 |
Change % |
||
China |
35740 |
48175 |
35 |
China |
10035 |
14575 |
45 |
USA |
18940 |
19955 |
5 |
USA |
6690 |
7295 |
9 |
India |
12775 |
14675 |
15 |
France |
5500 |
6040 |
10 |
Malaysia |
11970 |
11860 |
-1 |
India |
1905 |
2565 |
35 |
Hong Kong |
10280 |
10660 |
4 |
S. Korea |
1675 |
1925 |
15 |
Non-EU |
191865 |
214190 |
12 |
|
|
|
|
EU |
113530 |
111570 |
-2 |
|
|
|
|
All (inc EU) |
305395 |
325760 |
7 |
All |
59960 |
70035 |
17 |
Source: http://aei.dest.gov.au/
It is evident from Table 1 that over the last few years the global education market has registered phenomenal growth, which may contribute significantly to the economy of the host county. As a result, these economic factors have added to the competition in global education by attracting foreign students. According to an estimate more than two million students are enrolled for higher education outside their home countries and it was estimated that this number might double by 2015 and double again by 2025. To attract more foreign students, host countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, are reviewing and revising their national policies to ensure continued increase of foreign students to their institutions. Some Asian countries like China and India are also trying to attract overseas students.
Flow of students from China and India
India and China are the major sources of foreign students to overseas countries, in particular, to USA. Most of the Indian students who study abroad for doctorate degree are from science and engineering backgrounds. A discipline-wise distribution of students from India and China and other Asian countries who received doctorates in USA during 1985-2005 is given in Table 2
Table 2: Asian recipients of US doctorates in various fields (1985-2005)
Field |
Asia |
China |
India |
Taiwan |
S. Korea |
Science & Engineering |
130,426 |
41,677 |
18,712 |
19,187 |
18,872 |
Engineering |
48,166 |
12,784 |
8,172 |
8,816 |
7,273 |
Science |
82,260 |
28,893 |
10,540 |
10,371 |
11,599 |
Agricultural sciences |
5,313 |
1,313 |
434 |
709 |
728 |
Biological sciences |
20,973 |
9,957 |
2,668 |
2,658 |
2,132 |
Computer sciences |
5,850 |
1,360 |
1,515 |
970 |
745 |
Earth & atmospheric Sc. |
2,947 |
1,345 |
243 |
388 |
366 |
Mathematics |
6,236 |
2,692 |
575 |
739 |
829 |
Medical/other life sciences |
4,026 |
813 |
727 |
753 |
413 |
Physical sciences |
19,735 |
8,934 |
2,479 |
2,234 |
2,429 |
Psychology |
2,005 |
297 |
238 |
297 |
318 |
Social sciences |
15,175 |
2,182 |
1,661 |
1,623 |
3,639 |
Non-S&E |
22,691 |
2,668 |
2,911 |
3,727 |
5,267 |
All fields |
153,117 |
44,345 |
21,623 |
22,914 |
24,139 |
Source: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c2/tt0-09.htm
Table 3 gives details of data on flow of students from China and India to USA and vise-versa.
Table 3: Flow of students from China and India to USA and vice-versa
Year |
China |
India |
||||
No. of students |
% of foreign students in US |
Number of US students to China |
No. of students |
% of foreign students in US |
Number of US students to India |
|
1994/95 |
39,403 |
8.7 |
1,257 |
33,537 |
7.4 |
409 |
1995/96 |
39,613 |
8.7 |
1,396 |
31,743 |
7.0 |
470 |
1996/97 |
42,503 |
7.8 |
1,627 |
30,641 |
6.7 |
601 |
1997/98 |
46,958 |
9.8 |
2,116 |
33,818 |
7.0 |
684 |
1998/99 |
51,001 |
10.4 |
2,278 |
37,482 |
7.6 |
707 |
1999/00 |
54,466 |
10.6 |
2,949 |
42,337 |
8.2 |
811 |
2000/01 |
59,939 |
10.9 |
2,942 |
54,664 |
9.9 |
750 |
2001/02 |
63,211 |
10.8 |
3,911 |
66,836 |
11.5 |
627 |
2002/03 |
64,757 |
11.0 |
2,493 |
74,603 |
12.7 |
692 |
2003/04 |
61,765 |
10.8 |
4,737 |
79,736 |
13.9 |
1,157 |
2004/05 |
62,523 |
11.1 |
n/a |
80,466 |
14.2 |
n/a |
Source: http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/
It is good to note that in recent years there is a significant flow of students and scholars into China and India. Foreigners began joining Chinese universities for education in late seventies and the number is growing steadily. It was estimated that approximately 140,000 international students were enrolled for higher studies in China by 2005. South Korea is the largest source of foreign students to China contributing 39.3%. The leading source countries of foreign students to China are listed in Table 4.
Table 4: Major source countries to China (2008)
Rank |
Country |
Percentage |
1. |
South Korea |
33.0 |
2. |
Japan |
9.5 |
3. |
United States |
7.5 |
4. |
Vietnam |
5.0 |
5. |
Thailand |
3.7 |
6. |
Russia |
3.7 |
7. |
India |
3.7 |
8. |
Indonesia |
3.4 |
9. |
France |
2.4 |
10 |
Pakistan |
2.3 |
Source: http://www.atlas.iienetwork.org/?p=53467
On the other hand, India is lagging behind China in attracting foreign students (around 13,267 in 2005). The major source countries to India are given in Table 5.
Table 5: Major source countries to India (2005)
Rank |
Country |
Percentage |
1. |
United Arab Emirate |
11.30 |
2. |
Nepal |
10.19 |
3. |
Iran |
8.44 |
4. |
Bangladesh |
7.10 |
5. |
Oman |
4.86 |
6. |
Sri Lanka |
4.38 |
7. |
Mauritius |
3.97 |
8. |
Saudi Arabia |
3.15 |
9. |
Kenya |
3.15 |
10 |
United States |
2.99 |
Source: http://www.atlas.iienetwork.org/
Internationalization of education has created a worldwide market for higher education. Therefore, universities are building links with universities in other countries to enhance their global reach in the area of higher education. Moreover, foreign students are contributing in ample measures to the host country’s economy. According to Open Doors Report (2005), foreign students contributed $13.3 billion to US economy in 2004/05. US, UK and Australia, anticipating huge market for education, are demanding further liberalization of trade in cross border education through General Agreement on Trade in services (GATS). According to an estimate students from India to US may get doubled (2.8 lakhs) as compared to that from China (1.1 lakhs) while China may attract more students from US than India by the year 2015 A.D. Consequently, India must be ready to develop technical education in the near future to attract foreign students with possible economic implications.
Performance in Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
Graduate Record Examination (GRE), is a standardized test for admissions in graduate schools, principally in the United States, but also in other English speaking countries. GRE can thus be considered as an indicator of international migrations. Created and administered by Educational Testing Service (or ETS) in 1949, the exam is primarily focused on testing abstract thinking skills in the areas of maths, vocabulary, and analytical writing. The GRE is typically a computer-based exam that is administered by select qualified testing centers; however, paper-based exams are offered in areas of the world that lack the technological requirements. GRE score can also be used to assess performance in science and engineering at international level. India is the second largest country after USA to represent in GRE followed by China, which occupies third position. It is significant to note the students appearing in GRE from Iran are increasing after 2003. Further, appearance in GRE from Japan is speeding up after 2002. Contrary to this, representation in GRE from Taiwan is declining (Figures 2 & 3).
Fig 2: Top test takers in GRE,country-wise in percentage,2000-2007
Source: Graduate record examination,2007
Fig 3: Percentage of GRE takers among all UG+PG
Source: GRE 2008,China yearbook 2006,UGC AR-2006
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