Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (MS)

Bengaluru, Aug 13: Karnataka which is famous for IT hub of Bengaluru and palace city of Mysuru has now become the hometown of higher education. The state is proud to stand the number one in the country with regards to the number of foreign students studying in the state.

This fact is unearthed in the All India Survey for Higher Education (AISHE) conducted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for the year 2017-18.

In total there are 46,144 foreigners are studying in India. Out of this, 12,041 are studying in Karnataka. The corresponding number in Uttar Pradesh is 4,465, Maharashtra 4,306, Punjab 3,775 and Tamil Nadu has 3,532 overseas students. However, compared to the previous two years the number of foreign students in Karnataka has reduced. There were 13,050 and 12,348 students in the years 2016-17 and 2015-16 respectively. This survey is based on the number of students pursuing graduate courses in the department for higher education, professional courses, paramedical and research.

Favourite of Nepalese

Students from Nepal are the highest among the foreign students studying in the state. There are 24.9% of them in Karnataka, followed by students from Afghanistan at 9.5%, Sudan 4.8%, Bhutan 4.3% and Nigeria 4.05%. In 2016-17, there were 23.6% of Nepalese students studying in Karnataka. Altogether there are students from 166 different countries studying in the state. As much as 77.4% of these are pursuing graduate courses.

Low fee main reason

The main attraction is the low cost of quality education that has made the state of Karnataka the most preferred destination among the overseas students. Compared to other states, the fee of graduate and post-graduate courses is low in Karnataka. In addition, the cost of accommodation is also cheaper.

Incidents of overstaying visa

There are many, who come in the guise of studying and later do not return to their home countries. There are quite a few number of students who get involved in criminal activities. Recently the state police officials had located more than 900 foreign students who had overstayed their allotted visa period.