The number of Indian test takers for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to pursue secondary education and certifications abroad has seen a gradual rise over the years, said a report by PTI citing data from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Those taking the TOEFL test for immigration purpose has fallen, said the Princeton-based ETS, which conducts the TOEFL and Graduate Record Examination (GRE), as per the report.
According to the report, “the percentage of Indian test takers for licensure, certification or to attend secondary school abroad, has gone up from 5.83% of the total aspirants in 2021 to 7.77% in 2022. During the same period, the percentage of Indian test takers appearing in TOEFL for employment or immigration has declined from 8.19% to 7.22%.”
In 2022, the number of Indian test takers grew 59% over 2021.
There was a 53% rise in test takers in 2021 compared to the year 2020.
The ETS was observing the trend since 2018. The PTI report quoted Sachin Jain, the Country Manager of ETS India and South Asia, as saying: “From our data, we observed a growing trend of secondary education students opting for the TOEFL test. This trend is testimony to the shifting aspirations of the younger demographic, especially in their pursuit of international education.”
The percentage of Indians appearing in TOEFL to attend a graduate or postgraduate business programme/a graduate or postgraduate programme, other than a business programme, has increased from 70.84% in 2021 to 71.87% in 2022, said the report citing the ETS data.
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“There are so many industry reports that talk about the number of Indian students heading abroad hitting 2.5 million in the next three to five years. So that, I think, is a very strong macro push that is happening,” Jain told PTI. “The second thing is, I think there is a lot more, I would say enablement by foreign countries towards Indian talents…. another big macro kind of pull which is happening right from Australia, Canada and the UK, the big destination markets as we call them like all of them have changed.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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Updated: 24 Sep 2023, 06:16 PM IST