On Tuesday this week, Bonard Education provided a webinar on student recruitment from India. Hosted by Ivana Bartosik, she was joined by colleague Kristina Benedikova of Bonard, Rajesh Arya, President, Council for American Education and Madhav Gupta, Director of EEC India. The purpose was to update participants on emerging trends and consequently equip teams with ideas to sharpen their recruitment plans for 2025.
From 2019/20 to 2023/24, the number of Indian students studying in the main destinations of Australia, Canada, Germany, UK and USA increased by 20% per annum in Higher Education (HE) to 949,466, 31% in K12 to 20,199, a decline of 8% in English Language Teaching (ELT) to 4,189, culminating in 973,863 students overall.
Canada remains the top destination for HE and K12 and moved to pole position in ELT to dethrone Australia.
The major themes presented and discussed were:
- The Indian market will continue with strong demand | The appetite for overseas education remains robust, but successful student recruitment requires updating student recruitment strategies regularly to adapt to market forces. New markets such as Ireland, Germany and France are emerging, as the Big 4 adjust their visa policies. While India has traditionally been a post-graduate study abroad market, interest in undergraduate study is increasing.
- Focus on quality partnerships | Traditional multi-layered networks of agents and sub-agents can drive growth but often lack transparency. Building relationships with high-quality, trustworthy agents that deal directly with students is essential to mitigate risks and ensure long term agent/provider partnerships as well as student satisfaction.
- Understand regional dynamic | India’s regional diversity shapes study-abroad strategies. Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Delhi are strong markets with well-prepared students, while the Hindi Belt, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, faces challenges with lower awareness and readiness. Leverage local intelligence to target relevant students for your offer. India is a diverse country and a scattergun approach will waste limited resources.
- Have processes that align with student priorities | Address financial and academic concerns by implementing thorough screening, clear and timely communication, and realistic expectations to avoid disappointment and losing students to competitors.
The webinar was rich in content and commentary, making worth reviewing if your focus is India. The resources made available include the slides and recording of the webinar.
