The trend of students from Punjab going abroad for the study can be seen since 19th century. The arrival of the Britishers aware students regarding studies and this leads to the interest of going abroad for this purpose. Initially, only a few students started studying in the universities of America and Canada after the tenth standard but with the passage of time, the trend of foreign education decreased and the priority of earning money increased. Now this trend is changing with the time as international students started preferring to study in India.
As per the data received from Director of International Students in Punjabi University Patiala currently, 586 foreign students from 47 countries like Bangladesh, Iran, UAE, Afghanistan, Indonesian, South Africa, Swaziland, Egypt, Thailand etc. are studying in the campus. These students are mostly sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). 473 students are sponsored by ICCR, 63 by Ethiopia, 22 by YAE, 02 by Study of India and 08 self-sponsored.
According to the data of the last five years of the University, only nine students came in 2017-18 out of which seven students were from Ethiopia. A total of 34 students came in 2018-19 out of which 10 students were from Afghanistan. A total of 45 students came in 2019-20 out of which 22 students were from Afghanistan. A total of 82 students came in 2020-21 out of which 45 students were from Ethiopia. A total of 192 students came in 2021-22 out of which 115 students were from Afghanistan. A total of 137 students came in 2022-23 out of which 100 students are from Afghanistan.
A total of 69 students came in 2023-24 out of which 16 students are from Bangladesh. At present, 461 boys and 107 girls international students are studying in the University. On the basis of boys and girls, 04 girls and 05 boys in 2017-18, 03 girls and 31 boys in 2018-19, 03 girls and 42 boys in 2019-20, 08 girls and 74 boys in 2020-21, 25 girls and 112 boys in 2022-23, 30 girls and 39 boys in 2023-24 took admission in various courses.
On the basis of courses, at present there are 10 students in diploma courses, 120 in undergraduate courses, 199 in post-graduation and 239 in Ph.D. It is clear that the number of foreign students doing Ph.D. is more than other courses. About 50 percent of foreign students are researchers.
Increasing number of international students benefits the university both financially and increase the academic reputation at the international level. At present, when a large number of Punjabi students are going for studying in foreign universities, at the same time foreign students shows interest in studying in Punjabi University to complete their higher education. In addition, it is a great benefit for all the students and teachers in the university campus that their vision is broadened and expands the approach towards global issues.
This article was written by a student as part of Youth Ambassador Program. The views expressed are the author's own.