As diplomatic relations between India and Canada hit rock-bottom over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023, several students from India are getting apprehensive over pursuing their higher studies in Canada. Meanwhile, some of them who have already spent over ₹30-40 lakh on their education in Canada are reportedly remorseful of choosing Canada for not being able to find decent jobs there.
Some time ago, a video went viral wherein a long queue of applicants (most of whom were students) was seen outside Tim Hortons restaurant to find a part-time job.
The recent death of Gursimran Kaur, a 19-year-year Indian student, at a walk-in oven at Walmart store in Halifax has further exacerbated the situation. A total of Indian 633 students died abroad in the last five years, with Canada recording the highest number of deaths at 172, reveals the Govt data.
Sanjay Verma, who served as India's high commissioner to Canada was quoted by PTI as saying, that Indians hoping to study in Canada should think twice because many students have ended up in substandard colleges with no job prospects despite spending lakhs of rupees, resulting in depression and suicide.
Given all this, if you are contemplating going overseas to study further, these are some of the options besides Canada that one may consider.
1. Germany: Some of them include Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Technical University of Munich, Universität Heidelberg and Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn and University of Tübingen.
Other famous universities in Germany include: RWTH Aachen University, University of Freiburg, Freie Universität Berlin, and Technische Universität Berlin.
An MBA in Germany can cost you around 30,000 euros (equivalent to ₹27.30 lakh) at RWTH Aachen or as low as 4,000 euro per semester (at Technical University of Munich).
2. France: France also has some reputable universities such as Sorbonne University, Sciences Po Paris and HEC. There are around 9,500 Indian students studying in France in higher education institutions. President Emmanuel Macron in Jan this year rolled out a special programme for Indian students to learn French for a year in France before pursuing the degree of their choice. He also said that France aims to welcome 30,000 India students to France by 2030.
Country | No of Indian students |
| France | 9,500 |
| Germany | 42,997 |
| Ireland | 7,000 |
| UK | 1,85,000 |
| Poland | 4,000 |
(Source: MEA; data as on Jan 1, 2024)
3. Poland: There are around 4,000 Indian students studying in different Polish universities. These include University of Warsaw, University of Wroclaw and Jagiellonian University. Here, one can do a master's degree for 7,000-8,000 euros (at Wroclaw University).
4. UK: Just like US and Canada, UK also draws a lot of Indian students every year. There are over 1.85 lakh Indian students studying across UK, as per the data on Jan 1, 2024. Some of the top universities in the UK include Imperial College, King's College, Oxford, Cambridge and London School of Economics (LSE).
The fee varies widely from college to college. One can study for a master's degree for somewhere around 20,000 pounds (equivalent to ₹20 lakh). The top colleges charge a much higher tuition. It is worth pointing out that the UK is officially not part of the European Union (EU) anymore after Brexit took place on Jan 31, 2020.
Year | No. of Indian students |
| 2022 | 7,50,000 |
2023 | 9,30,000 |
| 2024 | 13.3 lakh |
(Source: MEA)
5. Republic of Ireland: There are nearly 7,000 Indian students studying in the Republic of Ireland. Some of the famous universities include University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University and Dublin Institute of Technology. Trinity College, Dublin, charges around 22,000-23,000 euros for a year from international students.
