Govt aiming for 5 lakh international students by 2024, says minister

Mohali, July 4

India aims to increase the number of international students studying in its universities from the current 50,000 to 5 lakh by 2024, said Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, during the inaugural ceremony of International Faculty Development Programme (IFDP) 2022 of Chandigarh University.

The six-day event is being organised as part of the Government of India’s initiative towards internationalisation of Indian higher education as per the New Education Policy (NEP). The IFDP is Asia’s biggest international faculty development programme. More than 123 professors, having expertise in 27 fields from over 32 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, South Africa, Ireland, the UAE, Poland, Denmark, Iran, Oman, the Philippines, Malaysia, Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal, will participate in it.

“With more than 100 professors from 75 universities of more than 30 countries in attendance, I feel this programme is a great opportunity for faculty as it will lead to their sensitisation to new concepts in teaching, enhance their skills and update them on latest developments in their field and research methodologies,” said Rajkumar.