Case Study:

Migration of Indian International Students: The demand of high-skilled workers

Avani Dhar #37950722

SOCI 303 202 Sociology of Migration

Professor Dr. Stefano Gulmanelli, T.A. Annette Cho

April 2015, 2020

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 Corporate giants Microsoft, Google, Pepsi, Deutsche Bank, MasterCard and Adobe

Systems share one commonality, their CEOs are Indians that have graduated from

international universities. In the era of globalization, corporate collaborations and

transnational social networks, the appeal for internationally-educated professionals has

dramatically increased. With the surge in acquiring international degrees, universities around

the world engage in an intense competition to compete in the knowledge economy due to

globalization. Often, studying abroad is considered a stepping stone towards migration in the

future. Foreign students, especially those from developing countries, demonstrate high stay

rates in a host country after the graduation (Hein and Plesch, 2008). A degree obtained in a

host country’s institution is often considered as an investment towards finding a job after

graduation either in the host country or in a third country. Next to the benefits in terms of

greater international recognition, many host countries reward degrees obtained in their

country by allowing students to stay after their studies and treating them favourably when

applying for a residence permit. This situation serves as a catalyst for affluent countries to

engage in immigration strategies and initiatives designed to attract and recruit international

students. Many industrialized countries are changing their policies to become more attractive

for highly skilled migrants, but simultaneously, anti-immigrant sentiments are on the rise, and

there is an escalation in the militarization of international borders (Massey,2015). Easy and

transparent access to visas, possibility to work while studying, and extended job-searching

periods after graduation are among the policy measures introduced to attract international

students.

Among the 572,415 international students in Canada, 40% are Indian students (ICEF

monitor, 2019). Students’ migration of such magnitude has become a major source of capital

and brain-drain for India while hugely benefitting the economies of the host countries.

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Focusing on the migration of Indian international students, this paper conjectures that

governments of developed countries like Canada, USA and the UK formulate immigration

policies to attract highly-skilled individuals, while regulating the number of those who might

potentially occupy low-valued employment. Furthermore, the broad phenomenon of

academic migration of Indians, gaining a higher level of skill or education abroad, and not

returning home, has created concepts such as ‘brain-drain’, the paper addresses the causes

and implications of such a significant demographic movement of highly-skilled individuals

from India, a developing country to the global north. By employing the ‘globalization effect’,

I explain the need for highly-skilled Indian labour in the global north, then proceed by

conceptualizing the push and pull factors through Lee’s model of migration. Furthermore,

identify causes of micro-migration by utilizing the Neo-classical economic theory and

approach macro-migration of Indian students via the theory of dependence as an aftermath of

India’s colonial past. I conclude by providing my subjective opinion pertaining to my

experience as an Indian international student in Canada.

In the current new global economy, knowledge has become the “untapped source

of wealth” (Thornton, 2012, pg. 81) which has resulted in a reconfiguration of labour

requirements. In the span of few decades, globalization has deconstructed national borders

and re-mapped the globe as a marketplace, with people positioned as consumers as well as

human resources or producers of wealth. Massey (2015) illustrates the rise of migration

through the world systems theory, which posits that, “migrants originate in the structural

transformation of societies brought by the creation and expansion of markets in the course of

economic development” (pg. 282). The Indian economy underwent a transformation from

“subsistence economy to a market system” (Massey, 2015, pg. 282) that resulted in massive

restructuring of social institutions and cultural practices. From agriculture goods producers to

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IT personnel producer, India, is one of the major and fastest-growing countries of origin for

the internationally mobile students. Internationalization of higher education has been a major

driving force behind this trend, along with a rising middle class in India, able to afford

foreign university programmes (Kumar et al. 2009). Expanding incomes, economic growth

and “rising tertiary enrolments” are key reasons for Indian growth in mobile postgraduates

(British Council 2014). In addition, foreign student policies have become a tool in the

international competition for skilled persons. Strategic plans of higher education policies in

destination countries makes it a favourable situation for Indian international students to plan

their career. This takes place through the so-called two-steps migration, namely, first through

the attraction of international students, and then by the retention of those students as skilled

workers for the national labour markets (Hercog and Laar, 2016). Taking Canada as a

primary example to demonstrate this process of attraction and retention, Johnstone and Lee

(2016) examine the global tactics of power and governance strategies in international

education policy, as they influence and shape education and immigration in Canada.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the government’s priority is to seek

highly skilled individuals (e.g., India, China) who are likely to succeed in Canada and to

promote its economic growth, long- term prosperity, and global competitiveness (Johnstone

and Lee, 2016). International students, who pursue their studies in Canada, are an ideal

population because they would have already been integrated into Canadian society.

Recognizing that international students are vital to Canada’s growth, the Citizenship and

Immigration Canada has set out to transform Canada’s immigration system as one that is

“faster, more flexible, and tailored to students’ needs” (Johnstone and Lee, 2016). Therefore,

new immigration policies and programs have been specifically created to make it easier for

international students to study, work, and become permanent residents in Canada, especially

for graduate students. For instance, international students are permitted to work on and off

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campus, without a work permit to a maximum of 20 hours per week. They can also apply for

a Post-Graduation Work Permit, a three-year open work permit, which enables students to

work for any Canadian employer in any industry. International graduate students can apply to

the Provincial Nomination Program for permanent residence in Canada during their master’s

or doctoral program or upon completion of their degree (Government of Canada, 2020).

Universities and governments are essentially interested in gaining their “market share” of the

best and the brightest international students acquiring a competitive advantage over other

affluent countries (Johnstone and Lee, 2016). Moreover, international students generate a

substantial amount of revenue to universities. According to a report conducted by the

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, in 2010, “international students in

Canada spent in excess of CAD$7.7 billion on tuition, accommodation and discretionary

spending” (pg. 22).

The globalization of education, especially international education, has been

represented as a rational decision-making at the individual, familial and institutional level. It

has been understood as a part of globalization. The “migration of knowledge workers” in

contrast with movement of “service workers” (Khadria, 2001, pg. 46)- unskilled/semi-skilled

individuals, has been the foremost effect of globalization. K. Scheve and M.J. Slaughter

(2001) in their examination of individual immigration policy preference conclude that

people’s position in the labour force influences their policy opinions, i.e., low-skilled workers

prefer more-restrictionist policies and high-skilled workers prefer less-restrictionist policies.

Therefore, this correlation delineates the formulation of immigration policies based on

labour-market forces; deducing that domestic governments prefer high-skilled workers; as

most nations possess a larger number of low-skilled employment.

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Here lies the question: why do Indian students choose to study overseas? Newly released data

from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs reveals that there were nearly 753,000) Indian

students abroad as of July 2018 (ICEF Monitor, 2019. This phenomenon can be

conceptualized through Lee’s Model of Migration, which states that “source and destination

have a range of attributes”, a set of push and pull factors that dictate migration decision-

making among voluntary migrants (Gulmanelli, feb 4,2020). The global pattern of

international student flows may be explained by a combination of ‘push and pull’ factors that

encourage students to study overseas. ‘Push’ factors operate within the source country and

initiate a student’s decision to undertake international study. ‘Pull’ factors operate within a

host country to make that country relatively attractive to international students. According to

a traditional perspective, demand for education, particularly higher education has been driven

by expectations of its ability to raise economic and social status of the graduate. As of 2020,

Indian universities have seen the highest representation in the latest Times Higher

Education's (THE's) Emerging Economies University Rankings with only 11 out of 100

universities as a part of the list. Thus, limited access to quality education in a country of 1.3

billion boosts the supply of students to universities overseas, one of the major push factors.

Others include factors such as widening gap in the demand for and supply of higher

education; regulatory framework of the country; rising income levels; availability of

education loans, the desire of the Indian middle class to migrate to developed countries; the

desperation to gain access to quality education to climb up the socio-ladder (Pande, 2018).

Additionally, international developments mentioned earlier in the paper include pull factors

such as globalization of education, global demographic trend; and most importantly policy

changes to aggressively recruit foreign students who are preferred over the immigration of

already skilled labor force because the additional revenue earned and providing attractive

study-to-work routes in terms of fees significantly contributes to the capitalistic motives of

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developed nations. Moreover, it is well established that most developed countries are

‘growing old’. They are is a concern that once baby boomers retire, there will be severe

labour shortages, which will have negative implications for nation building. Attracting and

retaining international students is a way to boost the economy, while promoting a welcoming

international landscape (Johnstone and Lee, 2016).

Since international students pose to be highly pertinent to the sustenance of global

economy, it is significant to recognize the cause and effect of micro and macro migration.

According to the Neo-classical economic theory, “migration is an individual choice of self-

interest, made through a rational cost-benefit analysis” (Gulmanelli, feb 4, 2020). Due to the

rising GDP in India, and the emergence of a larger upper and middle-class, international

higher education is favoured by families as an agent of upward social mobility. On the one

hand, it serves as mode for capital diversification and multifaction for the family, and on the

other, it establishes social networks for future migration. Consequently, leading to the exodus

of a significant number of people. Moreover, this exodus of academics can also be viewed via

the lens of neo-colonialism by employing the theory of dependence, which states that

“formerly colonized countries are forced into unequal relationships by capitalist and former

colonial countries” (Gulmanelli, feb 4, 2020). Historical or colonial links between host

countries and India have played an important role in determining the direction of much of the

international student flow. In the colonial era, imperial nations competed for natural resources

and labor, using armed forces and coercion to maintain colonial power and dominance. In the

postcolonial era, neo-imperial nations compete for information and knowledge workers, using

non-coercive soft power tactics and strategies to maintain their postcolonial power. Ninety

percent of student movement from India is concentrated in five countries of which the United

States is by far the largest recipient, receiving more than half of the expatriate Indian

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students, followed by Australia, United Kingdom and Canada, all being former British

dominions and English speakers (Pande, 2018). India, being a former British colony has been

heavily influenced by the western education system, which determines the current trend of

migration. The current global rush for international students creates a pervasive “social

imaginary” and a seemingly accepted norm that an access to western education and English

language are the fastest and best way to accumulate social, cultural, and economic capital for

upward mobility (Park, 2009, pg. 55). Simultaneously, the issue of brain-drain has gathered

much attention in India. The Government of India has awakened to the problem of massive

exodus of students, and has formulated policies to encourage domestic education growth. The

twelth Five-Year Plan (2012–17) states that: “Higher education in India is passing through a

phase of unprecedented expansion, marked by an explosion in the volume of students, a

substantial expansion in the number of institutions and a quantum jump in the level of public

funding” (Government of India, 2012).

I would like to conclude by highlighting my experience as an Indian student;

deciding to move to Canada, which coincides with the collective experience of my former

peers who also took this decision. There are numerous push factors that aided my movement,

firstly, most Indian universities have a quota system, similar to American affirmative action,

there are a certain percentage of admission seats given to people of lower castes, and seats to

students from the same religion as the founder of the college. This blocks any opportunity to

get into a renowned university. Besides this, the political environment in India, especially for

college students, has been a nightmare. The new right-wing Hindu-nationalist government

has been the major cause for driving out students, with violent riots on the rise, the safety of

college students belonging to the best of institutions has been jeopardized. On top of this, the

country has become overly unsafe for women, with escalation in rape and abduction cases,

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most young, middle-class people choose to opt out of this lifestyle. These factors come into

play while dictating macro-migration of students. International universities and governments

in the North take advantage of socio-psychological push factors, and present students with

ideal situations that also stands as the major cause of academic migration.

Words: 2234

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