Indian students eye global education, but 81% plan to return home: Survey

A survey found most Indian students planning to study abroad expect to return after their courses. The findings suggest overseas education is increasingly seen as global exposure rather than permanent migration.While 81 per cent said they intended to return to India, another 15 per cent selected “applying for job” as their next step without specifying whether they planned to work in India or overseas.Indian students may be increasingly looking beyond the country for higher education, but most do not see studying abroad as a permanent move. As many as 81 per cent of Indian study-abroad aspirants surveyed said they plan to return to India after completing their courses, according to the third edition of the Student Global Mobility Index by Oxford International.The findings, reported by The Times of India, offer a glimpse into how the aspirations of India's internationally mobile student population are changing. For many, an overseas degree appears to be a route to global academic and professional exposure rather than a one-way exit from the country.The survey drew 17,925 responses to its core questions, with around 2,400 additional responses covering students' course preferences, family backgrounds, information sources and plans after graduation. While 81 per cent said they intended to return to India, another 15 per cent selected “applying for job” as their next step without specifying whether they planned to work in India or overseas.INFLUENCE OF FAMILY HAS DECLINEDOne of the clearest shifts highlighted by the survey is who drives the decision to study abroad. Nearly half of the respondents – 49 per cent – said the decision was primarily their own in 2025-26, up sharply from 29 per cent in 2023-24 and 34 per cent in 2024-25. At the same time, the influence of family has declined. The share of students identifying family as the primary influence fell from 59 per cent in 2023-24 to 37 per cent in 2024-25 and 36 per cent in 2025-26.The pattern also varies by age and region. Younger students remain more likely to rely on family guidance, while older applicants are more likely to make the decision independently. Self-motivation was particularly high among students in north and south India, while family influence was stronger in western and central India. Nearly nine in 10 respondents were also the first members of their families to pursue education overseas, suggesting that international education is increasingly becoming a first-generation aspiration for Indian students.PG COURSES MOST PREFERREDThe survey found that postgraduate education remains the preferred route for students planning to study overseas, with seven in 10 respondents applying for postgraduate courses.Business and management emerged as the dominant field, accounting for 75 per cent of respondents. Health and medicine followed at 8 per cent, while sciences accounted for 2 per cent and engineering for just 1 per cent.The findings also show the growing role of digital platforms in how students discover and evaluate overseas institutions. Google searches helped 39 per cent of respondents discover their institution, followed by education agents at 35 per cent.Google was also the most trusted source of education information, cited by 56 per cent of respondents. College events followed at 20 per cent, while Instagram was trusted by 9 per cent. AI tools and YouTube accounted for 6 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.The findings suggest that the idea of “going abroad” is changing for Indian students. Rather than necessarily signalling a permanent migration, an international degree is increasingly being viewed as a period of global exposure, followed - for a large majority - by a return to India.- EndsPublished By: Mridusmita DekaPublished On: Aug 7, 2026 08:55 IST