India’s potential as an academic leader is slowly building as its international education cooperation arena widens. India is trying to leverage its comparative advantage in the region in multiple ways in order to be recognized as a rising educational hub. The newer modes of collaborative ventures are testimony to the fact that India is all set to change its image as a source nation to a sought-after destination country— more so in Asia and Africa.

Until recently, India was only recognized as a major source country as far as international student mobility was concerned, but the past few years have seen an impressive growth in the number of foreign students coming to India. From a mere 6,988 in 2000, it grew to 27,531 in 2011, and then to 33,156 in 2012, In 2019, India has hosted over 47,000 overseas students and aims to quadruple the number to 200,000 international students by 2023. Although students are coming from more than 150 nations, the greater number is from Asia. The 2017 Association of Indian Universities survey Report cites the top 10 sender countries to India as being Nepal, Bhutan, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Iraq, China, and the United States. These 10 together accounted for 62 percent of the total number of foreign students in the country. UNESCO statistics show that the preferred destination of a large number of SAARC nation students is India, which figures much higher than other foreign destinations. These students are from Bhutan (71 percent), Nepal (19 percent), Afghanistan (16 percent), and the Maldives (14 percent). Popular study areas for international students are IT, Pharmacy, and Engineering in which areas India is strong, but students also prefer to study Business Administration, Allied Health Sciences, Nursing, Biotechnology, and Basic Sciences.

Most students come to India to pursue undergraduate degrees and only a small number undertake doctoral programs. The main reason for the increase in foreign students coming to India for undergraduate education may be the high pace of India’s higher education expansion in the

past few years—by way of opening undergraduate and professional colleges—alongside a comparatively small higher education sector in its neighboring countries. Other factors contributing to this growth are geographical closeness, similar cultural underpinnings, plus the fact that the education experience is affordable—due not just to lower fees compared with other developed nations in the West and the Asian region but also to lower living expenses.

Now that India’s popularity as a higher education provider in the region is growing, it is the right time for India to consolidate its newfound regional educational leadership. Moving from an undergraduate education hub to a postgraduate and doctoral hub would help India to be recognized as a leader in the knowledge creation industry. Attempts to attract more international students for postgraduate and doctoral studies by way of starting SAARC, ASEAN, and other regional research centers, promoting cross-cultural interdisciplinary studies goes a long way in furthering regional educational ties. As most of the countries in these areas are developing and have a very limited or small higher education sector, India is now capitalizing on the opportunities of greater use of Information and Communication Technology to reach out to a larger student community in neighboring countries and beyond. Some other areas that demand harmonization in a global education scenario are the development of capacities to define and implement standardization/accreditation/assessment of learning achievements, the improvement of basic numeracy and English language skills, curriculum development and innovation, the development of teaching-learning materials, and the sensitization and promotion of inclusion in classroom practices.

Given the gravity of the challenge of the employability skills gaps among youth in Asia and Africa, the provision of high-quality technical and vocational education and training programs is yet another area over which India’s academic leadership can have a positive influence.

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