France hopes to woo 10K Indian students a year

NEW DELHI: France expects to attract 10,000 Indian students a year well before the target of 2020 following a sharp increase in visa applications from India, the French embassy said on Tuesday.

The goal of attracting 10,000 Indian students to France annually by 2020 was set during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit in March 2018. A month short of the visit’s first anniversary, figures for Indians students have surpassed the “most optimistic expectations” and the target is expected to be reached by late summer, the embassy said in a statement.

Last year, more than 8, 000 Indian students and scientists chose France for higher education. Experts have said more Indian students have been enrolling in educational institutions in Europe, especially in countries such as Germany and France, due to concerns related to the immigration policies of the US.

The French embassy said Indian visa applications registered a rise of more than 180% in the past five years. In 2018, the applications totalled more than 240,000.

“The notable upsurge in student visa applications echoes this general growth. In just a year, from 2017 to 2018, there was a hike of over 54.5% in the number of visas issued to Indian students headed for France,” the statement said.

French ambassador Alexandre Ziegler described the increase in student visas as “too little” and said, “France’s very high educational standards and the French government’s subsidies make studies much more affordable for Indian students than in many other countries.”

France is keen on partnerships and exchange programmes with Indian higher education and research institutions, and the second bilateral Knowledge Summit will be held in Lyon in July.