Students on the move

ARECENT report by British Council revealed that the number of outbound students across the world is expected to increase by 1.7 per cent annually on average between 2015 and 2027.

The report,

forecast tertiary enrolment and outbound student mobility across 56 countries.

These predictions were based on projections for tertiary-aged populations and household wealth, developed in partnership with Oxford Economics and largely based on data from the United Nations, across the countries, which are home to 80 per cent of the world’s tertiary-aged population.

The outbound student mobility rate is predicted to rise in 30 of the selected countries.

British Council’s Education Intelligence research director, Zainab Malik, who is also the author of the report, said: “When you look at examples like Malaysia, and Hong Kong, you see an increasingly high quality higher education system that is not only attracting students to stay in their own country but also attracting students regionally.

“While China will be home to the greatest growth in outbound student numbers — the number of its students going abroad is forecast to increase by 245,000 to 1.46 million by 2027 — in India, the number of outbound students is predicted to increase by 185,000 to 439,000 by 2027.

“Together, the two Asian giants will continue to drive outbound mobility over the next decade; they are forecast to account for 60 per cent of the global growth in outbound students to 2027,” she added.

Participating in an exchange programme is one way that students can grow, mature and learn to become more independent adults.

J S PERRY HOBSON