Jagdeep Dhankhar: Lure for foreign education a disease, causing $6 billion forex loss

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday equated the rising trend of Indian students pursuing foreign education to a “disease,” warning parents of its impact on their children’s future and the country’s economy.

“There is a new disease these days — the disease of going abroad. Children want to go to foreign countries for studies. Parents lack counselling but children are keen to go. They weave dreams of a heavenly land. There is no objective evaluation of which institution they are enrolling in, which country they are going to, it is just a mindless pursuit of foreign shores,” he said at an event organised by a group of educational institutions in Rajasthan’s Sikar.

Dhankhar pointed out that these students had “created a hole of USD 6 billion in India’s foreign exchange.”

“You will be surprised how 18-25-year-olds under the influence of advertisements are going abroad. As many as 13,50,000 Indian students went abroad to study in 2024. What will happen to their future? That is being reviewed. People are also understanding. They have created a hole of 6 billion USD in our foreign exchange,” he said. He expressed concern over the loss of foreign exchange and intellectual capital, describing it as both a “forex drain” and “brain drain.” He added that if this money were invested in India’s educational infrastructure, much could have improved.

“This should not happen,” he stated firmly, urging educational institutions to take responsibility for making students and parents aware of the situation abroad, as well as the rankings and credibility of the foreign institutions being pursued. He urged those who could to establish educational institutions in Tier 2 and 3 cities, and rural areas, emphasising that this would transform the education system.