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The number of foreign students coming to India saw a drastic decline in 2014 compared with 2013.
Experts say no one reason can be given for the sudden dip but the way forward, as pointed out by people such as Professor C N R Rao, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy and others, is to improve the quality of institutions to attract more foreigners.
Students from over 160 countries came to India in these three years. The decline is seen not just in those coming from countries ranked higher than India but even from countries such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and from many African countries.
The number of students coming from Afghanistan fell from 6,508 (2013) to 5,738 (2014). The number of students from Bangladesh fell from 1,954 (2013) to 1,247 (2014) and Sri Lanka, from 2,502 to 1,492 in the corresponding period. The number from Pakistan has been insignificant.
The bad publicity didn't seem to have an effect on the likes of Jose Antonio Borrero, a student at IIMB in August. "Beyond the course that has been of great help, I just love India," he had said. "I've already interned in Mumbai and now I've asked my parents to join me after my course."
