Despite having a population of just 1.7 million and being classified as a "very low income" city, Kathmandu sends more students to the United States than Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi.
An estimated 10,700 students from the Nepalese capital went to do courses in US from 2008 to 2012, according to a Brookings Institution report published on Saturday. The report used data on foreign student visa approvals from 2001 to 2012 on the top cities around the world sending students to US colleges and universities.
In fact, from 2008-'12, Kathmandu ranked as the city that sent the ninth largest number of students in the US. Seoul, South Korea, was number one on the list with 56,503 students. Two Indian cities edge out Kathmandu – Hyderabad was fourth and Mumbai sixth.
Most of these students come from cities that are classified as economically emerging. Only three cities in the top 20 – Hyderabad, Kathmandu and Chennai – are very low income cities with GDP per capita below Rs 3 lakh.
What can be noted is that Indians, especially students from Hyderabad, go to the US for a master’s degree. But about two-thirds of students from Kathmandu go abroad for a bachelor’s degree.
There is another surprising finding in the report relating to students doing STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) courses. In addition to Hyderabad, three other Andhra Pradesh cities feature in the top ten: Vijaywada, Visakhapatnam and Secunderabad. However, most of these students go to smaller institutions with little research activity. The report notes that several students from Andhra Pradesh tend to find themselves in unaccredited universities, some of which were shut down because they were abusing the Curricular Practical Training programme that allows students to work for a year after finishing their courses.
An estimated 10,700 students from the Nepalese capital went to do courses in US from 2008 to 2012, according to a Brookings Institution report published on Saturday. The report used data on foreign student visa approvals from 2001 to 2012 on the top cities around the world sending students to US colleges and universities.
In fact, from 2008-'12, Kathmandu ranked as the city that sent the ninth largest number of students in the US. Seoul, South Korea, was number one on the list with 56,503 students. Two Indian cities edge out Kathmandu – Hyderabad was fourth and Mumbai sixth.
Most of these students come from cities that are classified as economically emerging. Only three cities in the top 20 – Hyderabad, Kathmandu and Chennai – are very low income cities with GDP per capita below Rs 3 lakh.
What can be noted is that Indians, especially students from Hyderabad, go to the US for a master’s degree. But about two-thirds of students from Kathmandu go abroad for a bachelor’s degree.
There is another surprising finding in the report relating to students doing STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) courses. In addition to Hyderabad, three other Andhra Pradesh cities feature in the top ten: Vijaywada, Visakhapatnam and Secunderabad. However, most of these students go to smaller institutions with little research activity. The report notes that several students from Andhra Pradesh tend to find themselves in unaccredited universities, some of which were shut down because they were abusing the Curricular Practical Training programme that allows students to work for a year after finishing their courses.
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