France Reveals Ambitious Goal to Attract 30,000 Indian Students by 2030

In an effort to honor the Franco-Indian Partnership, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, France has set an ambitious target of 30,000 Indians by 2020.

SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra modi announced the historic decision during a trip to France. The number of Indian students currently in France is high, and SchengenVisaInfo.com expects to welcome almost 20,000 Indian students by the year 2025.

This will strengthen educational ties between the two countries and foster cooperation and mutual understanding.

"The deepening of our links in education, sciences and technologies, and culture, and the blooming exchanges between our young people, as well as the success of a diaspora in expansion, bring together our people and set the bases of future partnerships," mentioned a joint press release from the two countries.

According to Campus France's latest statistics, 6,321 Indians will be studying at French higher education institutes in 2021. This places India 14th on the list of the top 20 countries for international students. France had previously set a goal of 10,000 Indian students in France by 2020.

Since 2016, the number of Indian students studying in French colleges and universities has increased by an astounding 92 percent. The French authorities have announced that Indian citizens with a master's from any country who have studied at least one semester abroad are eligible for a Schengen visa valid for five years.

A spokesperson for the French Embassy in India said that the new alumni visa was a strategic move, as it rewarded students who chose France as their study destination. This included those who came to France for just a few short months.

According to the PIE spokesperson, the visa was designed to help these students stay connected with France and promote France as a destination for study.

A new format for international classes was also announced during this time to help integrate non-French speaking Indian students in the French educational system.

The new courses will train Indian students in French and provide them with the necessary academic content to be eligible for Bachelor's programs in French.

The spokesperson explained that "If you want to have more students from [those countries], you need to accept them as they are, and as they are is that they don't speak French."

The French government plans to start by having 15-30 public universities invest in new courses and programmes, which will be self-sustaining after two to three years.

Source: schengenvisainfo.com