Impact of Herding Behaviour in the choice of Higher Education Institutions: Educational Migration from Kerala

A significant rise in student emigration has substantially contributed to maintaining the emigration levels in 2023. From 129,763 student emigrants in 2018, the number has doubled to about 250,000 in 2023, according to the Kerala Migration Survey 2023. This notable increase in student emigration underscores a significant shift in the demographics of emigrants from Kerala. There has been an increase in the number of emigrants leaving at a very young age, as early as 17 years. The KMS 2023 has revealed that students constitute 11.3 per cent of total emigrants from Kerala, indicating that a growing number of younger individuals are choosing to emigrate, particularly for educational opportunities abroad. It is important to develop new policies that will encourage Malayalee international students to return home after acquiring valuable skills abroad, fostering a wave of brain gain.