Nearly 200,000 Indian students pursued higher education in US in 2020-21: Report
NEW DELHI: Nearly 200,000 Indian students pursued higher education in the United States in 2021-22, a rise of 19% over 2020-21 when the Covid-19 pandemic roiled the education system across the globe, according to a report released on Monday.
The Open Doors Report 2022 released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs said Indian students made up nearly 21% of the total 948,519 international students studying in the US as of 2021-22.
The report highlighted an 80% increase in new admissions of international students in the US in 2021-22 in comparison to 2020-21 when the figure was drastically reduced by the pandemic. A total of 261,961 new international students took admission in US universities in 2021-22 compared to 145,528 in 2020-21.
India was second to China in the number of international students studying in the US in 2021-22. Like previous years, China remained the largest source of international students in the US in 2021-22 at 290,086 even as the figure decreased by 8.6% over 2020-21, the report said. India, on the other hand, contributed 199,182 students, the second highest figure ever after 2018-19 when 202,014 Indian students were studying in the US.
In 2019-20, 193,124 Indian students were studying in the US. In 2020-21, the first year of the pandemic, the number of Indian students studying in the US decreased to 167,582.
Congratulating Indian students, US minister counsellor for public diplomacy Gloria Berbena said, “It is clear Indian students and their parents recognise the value of a US education, one that prepares them to leverage their newly gained knowhow to tackle the world’s challenges and readies them for future opportunities, whether that’s in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, or entrepreneurship and innovations.”
Among the 199,182 students, 27,545 were pursuing undergraduate degrees, 102,024 were enrolled in graduate or masters degrees, 1,425 were pursuing non-degree courses, and 68,188 were in optional practical training (OPT).
The report also highlighted a 99% decrease in the number of US students studying in India in 2020-21, amid the pandemic, in comparison to 2019-20. However, it did not mention the figure for 2021-22 to analyse the post-pandemic situation.
The annual Open Doors Report is a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US and vice versa. It is prepared on the basis of an annual survey of foreign students and scholars studying in the country and American students studying abroad.