Karnataka Leads In Foreign Student Enrolment; Nepal Sends Highest Number Of Students To India: AISHE Report
AISHE Report On Foreign Students: Overall, 37,295 male and 20,839 female foreign students were enrolled in Indian higher education institutions during the 2023-24 academic year.
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AISHE Report: The Ministry of Education’s All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) for 2022-23 and 2023-24 provides an overview of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country. The survey shows that the number of foreign students enrolled in Indian higher education institutions increased from 48,726 in 2022-23 to 58,134 in 2023-24. Karnataka recorded the highest number of foreign student enrolment, while Nepal emerged as the top sending country.
Karnataka Recorded Highest Foreign Student Enrolment
Karnataka recorded the highest number of foreign student enrolments in 2023-24, with 4,735 male and 3,179 female students, taking the total to 7,914. Punjab followed with 7,901 foreign students, including 5,328 males and 2,574 females.
Maharashtra ranked third with 6,190 foreign student enrolments (3,581 males and 2,609 females), followed by Uttar Pradesh with 5,953 students and Tamil Nadu with 5,694.
Overall, 37,295 male and 20,839 female foreign students were enrolled in Indian higher education institutions during the 2023-24 academic year.
Nepal Sent Highest Number of Students to India
Nepal accounted for the largest share of foreign students in India during 2023-24, contributing 24.1 per cent of the total enrolment. It was followed by the UAE (7.0%), United States (5.9%), Bangladesh (5.9%), Nigeria (5.5%), and Zimbabwe (4.0%). Together, the top 10 countries contributed 63.8 per cent of all foreign student enrolments in India.
AISHE Survey: Key Highlights
GER improves: The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) increased from 23.7 in 2014-15 to 29.5 in 2022-23 and 30.0 in 2023-24. It is computed as the ratio of student enrolment to total population in the age group of 18-23 years based on 2011 population projection.
Higher female participation: The Gender Parity Index (GPI) stood at 1.08 in 2023-24 and has remained above 1 for seven consecutive years, indicating higher female participation in higher education.
Overall enrolment rises: Total higher education enrolment increased from 3.42 crore in 2014-15 to 4.46 crore in 2022-23 and 4.50 crore in 2023-24, marking a 31.5 per cent rise over the decade.
STEM enrolment grows: Enrolment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses rose from 91.5 lakh in 2014-15 to 1.02 crore in 2023-24.
UG Courses Attracted Most Foreign Students
Undergraduate programmes accounted for the highest share of foreign student enrolments in India, making up 73.8 per cent of total admissions across different course levels in 2023-24. Postgraduate courses accounted for 16.8 per cent of the enrolments.
Sahil Behl is an education journalist at Jagran with over a year of experience in journalism. Prior to joining Jagran, he worked as a Sub-Editor in NDTV’s Education department, where he was responsible for writing and editing education-related content as well as managing the department’s social media presence. At Jagran, he covers a wide range of education topics, including board examinations, school updates, admissions, and job notifications, while leveraging his editorial expertise and strong understanding of digital content strategy. Sahil holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has also completed an eight-month certification program in Data Science. Passionate about emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, he closely tracks their growing role in journalism and explores how they are transforming shaping the future of the media industry.
