Despite the strain in India-Canada relations over the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Nijjar, the number of Indian students going out there to study and live has been on the rise.
The number of Indian students going to Canada to study has gone up over the past three years and was the highest in 2023 at 4.27 lakh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
As per the data shared in the Upper House, in 2023, Canada had the highest number of Indian students enrolled in its educational institutions at 4,27,085. This was followed by the United States of America (USA) at 3,51,106. The other countries that saw a high buy of Indian students going out to study were UAE (2,47,325); and Australia (1,24,829).
Minister of State (MoS) in MEA Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a written reply to a question by Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury on the number of students going out to study abroad in Canada, said that as per information obtained from the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Indian student intake at Canadian universities has increased over the past three years.
Singh was asked if the number of students going out to Canada to study has dropped on account of strained relations between the two countries.
India and Canada bilateral ties have been strained since last year over the case relating to the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Despite the strain and even other problems faced by Indian students in Canada such as housing, food and getting work-permits due to over-crowding, the number of those going out there to study and live has been on the rise.
According to data shared in Parliament this February, of the 403 Indian students having died since 2018 in foreign countries, 91 deaths were in Canada — the highest.
News18 had on October 12, 2023, reported that on an average a month, mortal remains of five to eight Indian students from Canada are sent back home.
As per data shared by the MEA, a total of 13,18,955 Indian students went out to 68 different countries across the world to study in 2023, which is the highest in three years. This figure stood at 11,58,702 in 2021 while in 2022, only 9,07,404 students went abroad.
Singh in his reply stated that as per information available with the Ministry, student intake from India in some countries has seen an upward trend, whereas in some others, the intake has declined.
“Government of India encourages only legal form of migration and mobility from India, including for students,” the reply stated.
