International Student Mobility in Indian Higher Education

Background

In the ancient times education centers based in the Indian subcontinent like Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshila have been known to have attracted students from other neighboring regions. Nalanda is said to have been a Buddhist center for learning where Hsuan Tsang, the famous pilgrim from China came to study and teach in the 7th Century AD. In the later centuries the Universities of Bologna, Paris and Oxford gained prominence as centers of learning and are known to have attracted students from across Europe and from other regions. Presently, the Indian higher education sector is one of the largest in the world in terms of enrollment. By 2020, India will have the largest tertiary age population in the world (United Nations Population division, 2012 as citied in British Council, 2014 p.8) and so this puts India as top priority for leading education providers across the globe. As per the AISHE Report 2013-14 (All India Survey on Higher Education, 2015a, pp.1-2), the total enrollment in higher education has been estimated to be 32.3 million with a Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher education of 23.0 which could potentially translate into more Indian students becoming internationally mobile.