New Delhi:
The percentage of Indians appearing in TOEFL to pursue secondary education and certifications abroad has gradually increased over the years, while the number of Indians taking the test for immigration purposes has declined, according to the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Princeton-based ETS, which administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), says the trend reflects the changing aspirations of the younger demographic.
According to data accessed exclusively by PTI, the percentage of Indian candidates seeking to obtain a license or certification or attend a secondary school abroad has increased from 5.83 percent of the total candidates in 2021 to 7.77 percent in 2022. During the same period, the percentage of Indian candidates appearing in TOEFL for employment or immigration has fallen from 8.19 percent to 7.22 percent.
Top officials at ETS have confirmed that the trend has been observed since 2018.
The data showed that the percentage of Indians appearing in TOEFL to pursue a graduate or postgraduate business program/a graduate or postgraduate program other than a business program has increased from 70.84 percent in 2021 to 71.87 percent in 2022.
“From our data, we have observed a growing trend of high school students opting for the TOEFL test. This trend is a testament to the changing aspirations of the younger demographic, especially in their pursuit of international education,” said Sachin Jain, the Country Manager of ETS. India and South Asia, told PTI.
There was a 53 percent growth in the number of Indian TOEFL test takers in 2021 compared to the previous year. In 2022, the number of test subjects increased by 59 percent compared to 2021.
“There are so many industry reports that talk about the number of Indian students going abroad will reach 2.5 million in the next three to five years. So that, I think, is a very strong macroeconomic push going on, Mr Jain said.
“The second thing is that I think there’s a lot more, I would say abroad is driving Indian talent…another big macro pull that’s happening directly from Australia, Canada and Britain, the big destination markets, like we mention them, as if they have all changed,” he added.
The top cities in India with the highest number of test takers are New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurugram, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
As of July 26, ETS has introduced a series of changes to the English proficiency test to create an optimal experience for those taking it. Reducing the duration to less than two hours instead of three and allowing candidates to see their official score release date upon completion of the test were among the changes
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