To think global you need not cross the shores of the country. You can make it big right here in India. That seems to be the message from students and young professionals today. Just as at the IIM placements this year a large number of foreign offers with stratospheric salaries were spurned in favour of jobs at home, students too are turning away from making a beeline for foreign degrees and choosing to get their qualifications right here in India.

For many years now, studying abroad has been the final academic goal for many Indian youngsters. A foreign degree followed by a job, and the lure of permanent residence have been too much to resist. But the flow seems to have hit a sudden roadblock this year.

The number of Indian students enrolling in universities abroad is set to drop by 10 to15 per cent during the current year. Internal assessments carried out by educational authorities in UK, Australia and New Zealand confirm the downturn. USA has been witnessing a slide in foreign admissions in any case for the last couple of years.

The trend first came to light after the deadline for UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admission Service) applications to the UK expired this January. UCAS is a centralised body that handles admissions to all full-time undergraduate courses in the UK. To its horror, the British Council noted a sharp drop of 15 per cent in applications from Indian students. Officially, the council is putting up a brave front. It says that this is not the right time to take stock. But agents representing UK universities admit that the picture is indeed gloomy. ?The fact is that there has been a drop in interest and UK is one of the worst affected,? says Ravi Singh, managing director of education agents Global Reach. While it was expected that UK would get round 19,000 students, they will now bag only around 11,000.

But the British Council says that as yet there is no definite indication to suggest that there has been a fall. ?We still have time and in any case, students are now too busy with their exams,? says Victor Rao, education counsellor at the British Council. But he adds that the council is planning a ?major advertising campaign? soon.

So is Australia. Information sessions have been planned in schools and colleges all over the country. For Australia, that had been the fastest growing destination for some years, is facing rough weather as well. According to the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI), the drop in enrolment of Indian students could be as high as 20 per cent. At the current rate, enrolments won?t cross 8,000 as opposed to 10,000 last year.

One reason for this is the shifting of the masters programmes ? always the most popular ? from category 574 to 573 that has made the student visa more expensive.

New Zealand has generally been inversely proportional to Australia. So, the country should have drawn more students this year. But that hasn?t been the case. The reason: the NZ dollar is now even more expensive than its Australian counterpart.

US numbers have been on the decline for the last two years as well. Educational Testing Service (ETS) that conducts the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) has announced that international registration for the exam in 2004 for admission in fall 2005 has dropped by 37 per cent. Even the Council for Graduate Schools has reported that international applications to US graduate schools for the September 2005 session have fallen.

Last year, a special worker visa had been introduced for international students with masters or PhD degrees from the US. It was withdrawn and the numbers have been dwindling ever since. H1B visas, too, were reduced to 65,000 in 2004 from 1,30,000 the previous year which contributed to the downturn. ?The job market in the US is not looking good at the moment. Students going there look at post-qualification opportunities so obviously this has got to influence their decision as well,? points out S. Niyogi, education consultant of Education Unlimited that represents several US universities in India.

Job bonanza

But the one big reason that is believed to have prompted the plunge in numbers is the dramatic improvement in the local job scenario. The AAERI lists ?stronger employment possibilities in India? as one of the reasons responsible for the present situation. IT, manufacturing industry, automobile, retail, entertainment, media, pharmaceuticals, BPO and call centres are all taking in people in greater numbers. ?The jobs have also turned more challenging. A lot of new things are happening, new areas like IT have emerged and everything is moving at a faster pace. Youngsters are obviously eager to take up the challenge,? says consultant D. Bose. As a result, many have either changed or deferred their plans to study abroad.

Staying put

Take Ashwin Verma, a commerce student, for example. He was planning to fly to the UK for an accounts course but now feels he will be better off working in a call centre, at least for the time being. ?Studying abroad would have meant spending a huge amount of money even before I have started earning. Now I will be able to save and fund my studies to an extent. And who knows I might drop the plan altogether if I happen to like the job,? he explains.

But education agents like Singh and Niyogi believe this is just a passing phase for most students have merely deferred their plans to try out their luck in the local job market. ?A masters degree in UK, USA or Australia will always be attractive for the immigration opportunities,? says Singh. Still, for the present, the Indian students? honeymoon with campuses abroad seems to be over.