By Rizqiyah Yusrinawati
Minutes before class in Srinagar, Ahmad was filling out an application for an Islamic university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Tuition fees and scholarship deadlines were already committed to memory.
By the time the lecture began, his mind was fixed on a campus nearly 6,000 kilometers away.
“I still want to study abroad one day,” said Ahmad, a first-year university student. “Right now, my parents feel it’s simply too far away.”
His story surfaced again and again during interviews with students, recent graduates, education counsellors and university teachers across Kashmir.
Young people here still dream about studying overseas. They spend months comparing universities, reading scholarship rules and following visa updates. Families also support those ambitions, but their plans simply follow a different order.
Students in Delhi or Mumbai often leave soon after school if they receive an overseas admission. Many families in Kashmir prefer another path.
“They encourage their children to complete an undergraduate degree close to home and think about a master’s or doctorate abroad after a few more years,” said Samreen Ilahi, a Srinagar-based educator. “Well, that difference says less about ambition than about timing.”
Andleeb, a Class 11 student, described her own plans with striking honesty.
She hopes to study physics overseas one day. Her parents encouraged that choice, even though medicine and engineering remain more popular paths for many families. She believes the timing needs to feel right.
“I think I would become homesick if I left now,” she said. “For my master’s or my Ph.D., maybe I will be ready.”
Another student, Mohsin, already studies outside Kashmir because his course simply was unavailable in the valley. He said he would have made a different decision if the programme existed closer to home.
“If my course had been offered in Kashmir,” he said, “I would have stayed.”
That thought returned in different forms through almost every interview.
Students spoke about Kashmir as more than the place where they live. Home remained the reference point against which almost every academic decision was measured.
Mental health professionals say those feelings have deep roots.
Years of curfews, communication shutdowns and sudden disruptions strengthened family bonds while also increasing anxiety about separation.
“Families here have a heightened sensitivity to disappearance and disconnection,” said a Srinagar-based counsellor who works with college students. “Parents think about much more than university rankings or tuition fees. They also think about whether they can reach their children quickly if something happens at home.”
Those family decisions come at a time when overseas education itself has entered a new phase.
India sent roughly 760,000 students abroad in 2025, according to Ministry of External Affairs data cited by education researchers. That number followed several years of gradual growth before signs of a slowdown appeared.
Rising tuition costs, expensive housing and tighter visa rules in countries such as Canada and Britain have forced many families to rethink their plans.
Students from Jammu and Kashmir face another challenge.
Several Australian universities placed the region on a restricted admissions list in 2025 because of concerns over visa misuse linked to migration rather than study. Local education counsellors say genuine applicants suddenly found themselves facing extra scrutiny.
Many students responded by widening their search.
Indonesia came up repeatedly during interviews.
Students pointed to Universitas Islam Indonesia in Yogyakarta because of scholarships available through the university and Indonesia’s KNB postgraduate scholarship programme. Türkiye and Iran also attracted strong interest.
Students spoke about halal food, common religious practices and a cultural setting that feels easier for a first experience away from home.
Researchers see the same trend elsewhere.
Students increasingly look beyond traditional destinations such as the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, with more choosing universities in Asia and the Gulf.
One prospective applicant, identified as T, spent months comparing universities in Indonesia and neighbouring countries. Prestige, he said, should never become the only reason to study overseas.
“Students should choose programmes that are relevant to their country’s needs,” he said. “Your education should help you build a career when you return.”
Students also spoke openly about what they want to see inside Kashmir’s universities.
Practical learning topped almost every list. Laboratories, internships, research opportunities and stronger links with industry came up repeatedly. Classroom teaching built around memorising textbooks drew regular criticism.
An educationist in Srinagar, who has taught undergraduate and postgraduate students, believes Kashmiri students perform strongly once they reach international universities.
“Our students compete confidently once they enter foreign classrooms,” the educationist said. “Better research facilities, stronger faculty development and more practical exposure before they leave would make them even stronger.”
Perhaps the clearest finding came from something families never questioned.
Students said parents, relatives, neighbours and teachers celebrate admission to a foreign university with genuine pride.
“International education enjoys broad support in the valley,” said Maryam Shafi, a young working mother in Srinagar. “Family discussions often focus on when a student should leave rather than whether they should leave.”
That distinction explains why Kashmir’s story looks different from many known accounts about young people seeking opportunities elsewhere.
“Ambition has never faded,” Maryam continued. “Families simply prefer stronger foundations before taking the biggest academic step.”
Ahmad still visits the university website in Indonesia. Scholarship dates remain saved on his phone, while his classes continue in Srinagar.
The destination already feels clear, but the journey simply begins at home.
- The author is a journalism student at Punjabi University, currently in the second year of the Mass Communication and Journalism program.
This article has been automatically published using a syndicated feed. The content is sourced externally and may not have been reviewed by The Freelancers Team.
