India least expensive for foreign education: Survey

India has emerged as the least expensive foreign destination for university undergraduate students among a list of 15 countries. Australia, Singapore and US occupy the top three positions in the expenditure chart for overseas students, according to HSBC’s latest survey — The Value of Education: Springboard for success.    

The average annual cost, including university fees and living expenditure of an undergraduate international student in India is $5,642, of which $581 is university fees.

At $42,093 a year, Australia — a hugely popular destination for Asian students — is the most expensive option globally, followed by Singapore at $39,229 and US at $36,564. Overseas students need to spend on an average $35,045 a year for undergraduate studies and living in the UK, according to the survey.  

The comparative yearly costs stand at $12,627 in Brazil, $10,729 in China and $9,460 in case of Mexico, the survey shows. The report, which surveyed over 4,500 parents in 15 countries and territories, examines parents’ attitudes and behaviour towards children’s education around the world.

Sanjiv Sud, head of retail banking and wealth management, HSBC India, said, “Education costs are lower in emerging markets such as India because the state-run universities are heavily funded by the government and also the cost of living for overseas students is lower here.”

Indian parents perceive the US provides the highest quality of education. About 62 per cent of Indian parents ranked the US in their top three destinations for quality education, the survey report shows.

The report also suggests Indian parents with higher incomes are more likely to regard the US (69 per cent) and the UK (67 per cent) as providing the highest quality education compared with parents with lower household incomes: US (55 per cent) and UK (40 per cent).

More than four in five (85 per cent) Indian parents would consider sending their child abroad for a better university education, the survey shows.  

According to the report, Indian parents believe that foreign education offers some key benefits to children.  

Of the surveyed Indian parents, 62 per cent said overseas education leads to international work experience as an important advantage. It also offers other benefits such as openings to opportunities in life (48 per cent), instilling confidence (48 per cent), exposure to new ideas (43 per cent) and income earning potential (42 per cent).

The Value of Education is a global consumer research study which explores parents’ attitudes and behaviours towards children’s education. The first report, Springboard for success, represents the views of 4,592 parents in 15 countries around the world.

The survey was conducted online in December 2013 and January 2014, among parents who have at least one child under the age of 23 currently (or soon to be) in education, and who are solely or partially responsible for making decisions about their child’s education. This independent research study was commissioned by HSBC and carried out by Ipsos MORI.