Agent surveys show that overall international study applications in India are down, but the UK has been less heavily affected

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by Deepika Baruah

11/12/2020

Higher Education Institutions, Further Education Institutions, Schools & Independent Colleges

To understand how Covid19 has impacted international student numbers from India, what the major concerns have been and how student mobility has been affected, the IES India team conducted a survey in September and October 2020 to understand the mobility patterns agents are experiencing on the ground. A large majority of the 70 surveyed agents agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on applications to study overseas, but many say that applications to the UK are still up compared to last year.

Overall, 81 per cent have seen a drop in the total number of students applying to study overseas, with 43 per cent of agents saying that their application numbers had dropped by half or more.

Figure 1: Agents’ reported change in total overseas study applications vs last year (% of agents)

However, the effect on the UK itself has been mixed. Slightly over half (51 per cent) of agents have said that applications to the UK have actually increased this year, while 40 per cent said the opposite.

Figure 2: Agents’ reported change in UK study applications vs last year (% of agents)

The UK’s comparatively strong performance compared to competitor countries is likely due to two different factors. The first is the UK’s more open policy on entry of overseas students during the pandemic, especially compared to Australia and New Zealand - where borders are still closed to incoming students - as well as to the USA. The other is the country’s broader policy around international students, with the UK benefiting from its recent re-introduction of the Graduate Route (commonly known as the post study work visa) while the US is seen as becoming increasingly restrictive.

This is reflected in Indian agents’ assessment of the countries their students see as attractive given the current COVID-19 situation. Canada is at the top of the list, followed by the UK; Australia and the US are both seen as less attractive.

Figure 3: Agents’ perceptions of leading destination countries’ popularity among prospective Indian overseas students given the current COVID-19 situation (% of agents rating country as most popular destination)

Agents were also asked to rank the important factors affecting students’ overseas study decisions this year. Visa and post-study work rules were listed by almost 90 per cent of agents, while countries’ success in handling the pandemic and their current health and safety measures were rated as the two least important of the five available options with less than half of agents rating each of these among the top 3 factors. This aligns with student surveys carried out by the British Council in August which showed that, in contrast to many other countries, Indian applicants to UK HEIs were more likely to describe themselves as very or somewhat concerned by financial issues than by health & wellbeing.

Figure 4: Agents’ perceptions of important decision factors among prospective Indian overseas students (% of agents rating factor in top 3 factors)

When we explored specific issues in the survey, financial concerns emerged strongest. Significantly more agents described funding and financial status as “affecting [decisions] a lot” than the proportion who said the same about health and safety concerns or the postponement of school and college final exams earlier in 2020. Nevertheless, most still said that health and safety issues did affect students’ decisions to at least some extent.

Figure 5: Agents’ perceptions of how much certain issues have affected overseas study decisions (% of agents)

Finally, agents were asked about the study plans of students who had applied to study in the UK in the current academic year. A little over half of respondents said that students were “very likely” to start their studies in the UK in January, with 28 per cent saying that deferral to next academic year was very likely. 16 per cent said that students were very likely to change their destination, while 14 per cent said that students were very likely to cancel their overseas study plans and another third said that this was “somewhat likely”.

Figure 6: Agents’ perceptions of how 2020 applicants’ study plans are expected to change (% of agents)

Overall, the agent survey results show that although the pandemic has caused a noticeable decrease in Indian students’ interest in studying overseas, the UK has not been impacted as negatively as the Indian student market as a whole. Indian students appear to see the effectiveness of a country’s COVID-19 response as just one factor among a larger set of considerations such as a country’s openness to foreign students and the ability to stay in the country after graduation.

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Country/Market Intelligence