Indian enrolment in US varsities slows down

Half the institutions of higher learning in the United States have recorded a drop in the number of Indian students enrolling with them this fall, thanks to the global economic slowdown and worries about H1N1 influenza. 

But, overall, the number of Indian students in the US has risen 9.2% to 1,03,260 and India continues to send the largest contingent of international students to America, the annual Open Doors survey by the Institute of International Education has found. 

The rate of increase has slowed down from about 12% the previous year, enabling China to close the gap rapidly. The number of Chinese students in the US this year has risen by 21% to 98,510. 

Only 31% of institutions in the US saw an increase in enrolments by Indian students, with the remaining 19% recording no change. 

The Open Doors report, which is compiled with the support of the US state department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, said the number of all international students in the States rose by 8% to an all-time high of 6,71,616. 

India remains in the lead for the eighth successive year; South Korea with 75,065 students, is in third place.  

The US International Education Foundation (USIEF) attributes the lower rise in number of Indian students to the growing number of international schools in India. 

KP Singh, who runs a global consultancy firm, added that enrolment figures in Fall 2009 could have gone down because several other education destinations such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are coming up. 

Rahul Choudaha, an international educational consultant based in New York, said the growth of Indian students on US campuses “may take a sharp U-turn” in the future. He said the number of F-1 student visas issued for October 2008-September 2009 had decreased 25%. A recent survey by the Council of Graduate Studies reported a 16%
drop in the first half of the year, he said.