Kerala Students Shift Toward Affordable Europe Over US 2025

Kerala Students Prefer Higher Education in Europe Over the US

Prime Highlights

Growing number of Kerala students prefer European countries for higher studies over US, UK, and Canada.
Low fee structure, quality education, and the potential to get a work permit after studies are behind the shift.

Key Fact

There were hundreds of thousands of Malayali students in 2023 who studied in Germany, France, Poland, Malta, Denmark, and Sweden.

Key Background

Kerala is witnessing a massive trend in higher studies abroad with students moving increasingly towards European nations rather than the erstwhile favorites of the US, UK, and Canada. Germany, France, Malta, and Poland are also joining the top ranks, and students are being drawn to them in various areas of study from engineering to medicine, business management, law, artificial intelligence, and data science.

One of the main impetuses behind this trend is affordability. A lot of European universities provide internationally acclaimed degrees for a fraction of the price it costs in anglophone nations. It can cost ₹30–40 lakh or even higher to study in Australia or Canada, but a majority of European courses can be obtained for roughly ₹10 lakh for the whole course. Most colleges also teach courses in English, have free movement within the Schengen area, and provide decent post-study work opportunities.

Visa policies and entry procedures have also assisted in transforming tastes. Over the last decade, increasing entry restrictions, increased cost of living, and competitive admissions in English-speaking countries have made Europe an easier and more desirable place. France, for instance, is now a desirable destination because of its simple entry procedure, reduced living expenses, and numerous opportunities for additional studies or employment in the EU.

This exodus also mirrors underlying anxieties of Kerala’s domestic system of higher education. Undervaluation of native degrees in the international market, employment restrictions, and intrusively aggressive promotion by international education consultants have forced the exodus. Kerala’s student diaspora thus stretches across more than 50 countries today, symbolizing international aspirations and economic motivations behind the choice to study abroad.