Educonnect May 2025 Wrap-Up Edition
POPULAR STUDY DESTINATION UPDATES
United States | Sets Record with 1.1 Million International Students in 2024, Reinforcing Its Global Education Leadership
More than 1.1 million foreign students in the United States studied in 2024, a record high and highlighting America’s position as the leading destination for higher studies worldwide and is likely to keep growing, providing possibilities for US institutions to increase diversity and global engagement through inclusive, quality education. Read more here.
United Kingdom | UK Higher Education Braces for Stricter Visa Compliance Rules
Ghana’s Ministry of Education and SCALE in partnership with GPE have raised $118.8 million to enhance foundational learning and develop the national education system for better teaching quality and promoting children’s well-being. Read more here.
Australia | Sharp Drop in Australian Vocational Education Visas for Vietnamese Students Amid Policy Reforms
Australia only issued 23 vocational education visas to Vietnamese citizens—a 58-percentage point drop compared to the previous year, and it comes at a time of stricter student visa policies such as tougher English tests, higher charges, and fewer post-study work opportunities. Read more here.
Canada | Slashes Indian Student Visas by 31% Amid Tighter Immigration Rules
Canada issued 31% fewer study permits to Indian students in Q1 2025, and the decline follows new immigration limits, increased financial thresholds, and tightened verification procedures as the government works to reduce temporary migration and ease pressures on public services. Read more here.
New Zealand l Launches Education Growth Plan and Roadshow to Boost International Student Enrolment
The government of New Zealand is to conduct a nine-day education roadshow in the Philippines in order to entice Filipinos to further their studies in a nation that actually equips students with the in-demand skills required in their respective industries and workplaces. New Zealand is developing an International Education Growth Plan to restore foreign student enrolments, which are 41% down from their 2016 high. Read more here.
Ireland l Ireland’s English Language Training Drives Strong Growth
In 2024, Ireland’s English Language Education industry saw 128,761 international students, injecting €792 million into the Irish economy. Ireland’s success relies on secure immigration policies and a beneficial regulatory environment despite increasing global competition. Read more here.
France l Donates Advanced Molecular Biotechnology Centre to University of Zimbabwe to Boost Research and Public Health
France will transfer a €2.8 million cutting-edge Molecular Biotechnology Centre to the University of Zimbabwe, boosting the nation’s ability for disease surveillance, agricultural research, and public health diagnosis. Read more here.
China l Broadens Global Higher Education Partnerships, Including US Collaborations Amid Political Tensions
China has sanctioned more than 100 new global higher education collaborations, 23 of them with US partners, demonstrating ongoing enthusiasm despite the recent tensions in geopolitics, in conformity with China’s national strategic objectives to enhance technological innovation and global education reach. Read more here.
Japan l University of Tokyo Offers Support to Displaced Harvard International Students
The University of Tokyo (Todai) will provisionally admit international students who were impacted by Harvard’s decision to halt admissions under a U.S. policy shift and will permit the students to take classes auditors and receive credit for use in future studies. Read more here.
South Korea l Daegu Sets Sights on 10,000 International Students by 2028 with Comprehensive Support Strategy
Daegu city, South Korea, has introduced a four-stage plan to double its foreign student population by 2028 and to establish itself as an international talent hub by upgrading recruitment, education, and settlement assistance, such as new language and career services, in cooperation with local universities and industries. Read more here.
Thailand l Tightens Rules on Short-Term Study Programs to Prevent Visa Misuse and Ensure Academic Integrity
Thailand has launched strict new regulations for short-term non-degree study programmes to avoid abuse of student visas by foreigners that require explicit educational goals, attendance monitoring, and institutional reporting to improve transparency, compliance, and education standards across the country. Read more here.
ASIA UPDATES
- Imperial College London has opened Imperial Global India, a new science and technology campus in Bengaluru, to drive UK-India cooperation on challenges facing the world, facilitate joint research, and innovation schemes with top Indian institutions and policymakers. The University of Liverpool has been approved to establish its first international campus in Bengaluru, India, which will provide undergraduate and postgraduate programmes with the goal of enhancing global research collaboration and academic mobility. Greater Noida, India has greenlit the opening of branch campuses by two Australian universities, marking a step closer to its internationalisation drive in higher education.
- NMDC Extends Education in Rural India and has invested over Rs 690 crore in educational programs, impacting over one lakh students every year and invested over Rs. 2,600 crore in education and skill development, infrastructure, and most importantly, creating not just facilities but an ecosystem of opportunities that is within reach for everyone.
- China, Japan, and South Korea have established the Health and Wellness University Alliance with 43 founding universities to tackle the region’s issues of rapid ageing, facilitate cooperation in talent development, research, and social services in support of public health and regional well-being.
- Eight leading Japanese universities, such as Kyoto and the University of Tokyo, have submitted bids for the second phase of Japan’s ¥10 trillion research grant scheme to promote international research excellence with up to 25 years’ worth of grants.
- Nepal has declared free visas for foreign students and multiple-entry visas for their parents as part of fresh reforms to lure foreign learners to bring in an umbrella act to rationalise the governance of higher education, enhance quality, and minimise the exodus of Nepali students abroad.
- Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has determined that the government should finance education in private institutions, which activists and scholars view as a triumph for the right to education, and impose that governments, at both national and provincial levels, ensure education of pupils “at least at the elementary level without charging fees.”
- Excelia Business School in France presents its strategy 2025-2030 with a global business education and social impact orientation, blending AI and gamified learning journeys, and equipping future professionals for global challenges.
- Ministery for Education and Youth of Ireland made an announcement of investment worth €65 million in schools to assist in digital learning, finance minor works of primary and special schools to utilise for maintenance and small-sized improvement to schools, and in ICT infrastructure funding to all recognised special, primary and post-primary schools.
- The Minister of Higher Education affirms that Malaysia is still committed to the values that provide education with its meaning, and it will continue to uphold inclusive education and stand with affected institutions and communities by policies that curtail access and dilute diversity.
- The Nepalese Finance Minister has provided Rs 211.17 billion to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the financial year 2025–26 which includes the promotion of digital tools and learning platforms use for teaching and learning.
- Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan (KGUMSB) formally executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mahidol University, Thailand, that is a big leap toward intensified international cooperation and higher quality health professional education in the Kingdom of Bhutan.
AFRICA UPDATES
- The University of Rwanda will introduce a pioneering Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Science and Technology, supported by country-wide plans to develop a nuclear research facility and subsequent power generation based on SMRs, to create local capacity in nuclear technology, enhance Rwanda’s Vision 2050 for energy independence and socio-economic development.
- The Federal Government has hailed the commencement of the INSPIRE Project as a revolutionary milestone in Nigeria’s academic and technological advancement, terming it as a pivotal step toward empowering future generations and spur the nation forward in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
- Egypt’s Ministry of Technical Education and Education has installed 98,000 classrooms across the country in the current academic year, lowering the density of classrooms in state schools, some of which had topped 200 students per class previously, to less than 50 on average per class.
- Ghana is officially declared as the host nation of the 2025 Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Triennale on Education and Training organised in partnership with the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education and reshape education systems in Africa to meet the challenges of quality, equity, and relevance.
- The African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), the Moroccan non-profit research and development institute situated in Benguerir, has entered into a new partnership with the Ministry of Technical Education, Vocational Training, and Apprenticeship of Côte d’Ivoire to transform agricultural education and enhance food security in the West African nation.