France is fast emerging as an education destination for Indian students, with a 54 per cent hike in numbers from 2017 to 2018. There are at present over 8,000 students pursuing higher education in various French institutes, according to the French embassy in New Delhi. The numbers are small in comparison with the number of Indian students heading to the United Kingdom (10,000) or the United States (over 1.5 lakh). However, they are significant because France is only now emerging as an education destination. Also, the student inflow to the US and the UK have actually gone down over the last year.
France has been hard selling its education institutes in India, where there is a good student population looking for higher studies. The language barrier is an obstacle, but students are becoming aware that many courses are taught exclusively in English across most institutions.
During President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to India in March 2018, the two countries had agreed on working towards the target of 10,000 Indian students leaving for France annually by 2020. The embassy is confident that the target could be reached by the summer of 2019 itself.
French Ambassador Alexandre Zeigler said, “In 2018, we registered 8,000 student and research visas for talented young Indians. Though twice as much as a couple of years back, this is still too little. We want to reach 10,000 by 2020, but why not 20,000 in 2025? Our doors have always been open to Indian students, and our courses, many fully taught in English, are among the world’s best.”
The ambassador added that French government subsidies make studies much more affordable for Indian students than that in many other countries. “Moreover, the agreement on the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications between India and France, signed during President Emmanuel Macron’s India visit, will enhance the already close ties between our two nations.”
France is the third most popular global study destination, with four lakh foreign students registering each year.
Apart from student mobility, France and India have also committed to fostering partnerships and exchange programmes between institutions of higher educaion and research.
France will hold the second edition of its Knowledge Summit in Lyon this October. The first summit was held in New Delhi during Macron's visit to India. “The Knowledge Summit will gather a wide range of higher education institutions, as well as top academics from both India and France and highlight the wide range of opportunities this partnership offers,” said a communique from the embassy. It added that: “The Choose France Tour, held twice a year, enables French institutions to present their courses to Indian students. This year the Choose France Tour 2019 took place in Chennai (31 January), Kochi (2 February), Hyderabad (4 and 5 February), and will soon come to Pune (7 February) and Delhi (9 February).”