More US students head to India
India is now the 20th leading destination for US students with 1,767 admissions - up 53% this year.
By Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN |
WASHINGTON: Too early to sound hurrahs or alarms about American interest or interests, but India is gaining popularity as an international study option as record numbers of American students head abroad.
An annual report that monitors international student flows reaffirms that India continues to send the most number of students to the US. Despite 5% drop from a record 80,000-plus last year, India still heads the list with 76,503 admissions in 2006.
An annual report that monitors international student flows reaffirms that India continues to send the most number of students to the US. Despite 5% drop from a record 80,000-plus last year, India still heads the list with 76,503 admissions in 2006.
| LEARNING CURVE US study abroad has more than doubled in the last decade — up from 84,403 in 1994-95 to 205,983 this year In contrast, US varsities attracted more than half million foreign students each year US missions abroad issued a record 591,050 student and exchange visas in the 12 months ending in September 2006 India’s 76,503 admissions made up 13% of foreign admissions in the US; China followed with 62,582 students |
India is now the 20th leading destination for American students, up 53% this year alone to 1,767, the largest increase. Remarkably, Russia, once US Cold War adversary which engendered a whole generation of Sovietologists, has dropped out of the top 20. The UK tops the list with over 32,000 American admissions, followed by Italy, Spain, France, Australia, Mexico and Germany. China is at 7th place with 6,389 admissions, up 35% over 2005.
Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education, which produces the Open Doors report, notes that US students are increasingly studying in countries such as China and India, believing it will provide “useful language and cultural skills for their future careers’’.
Some of the US interest in studying abroad has been spurred by the National Security Language Initiative which recognises that the US lacks sufficient number of people who can speak languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashtu, which Washington considers critical in its war on terror.
American academics have complained in the past that India has been inhospitable to US scholars, fearful that US intelligence agencies would use them to subvert India, an apprehension that goes back to the 1960s. Those wrinkles appear to have been smoothed over by the increasing economic engagement between the two countries in recent years.
Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education, which produces the Open Doors report, notes that US students are increasingly studying in countries such as China and India, believing it will provide “useful language and cultural skills for their future careers’’.
Some of the US interest in studying abroad has been spurred by the National Security Language Initiative which recognises that the US lacks sufficient number of people who can speak languages such as Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Pashtu, which Washington considers critical in its war on terror.
American academics have complained in the past that India has been inhospitable to US scholars, fearful that US intelligence agencies would use them to subvert India, an apprehension that goes back to the 1960s. Those wrinkles appear to have been smoothed over by the increasing economic engagement between the two countries in recent years.
Start a SIP with as low as ₹500 with ET Money App!
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
