On 21 September 2025, The New Indian Express published an interview with Professor Irudaya Rajan about migration patterns from Kerala where the Professor characterised the rising trend of student migration from Kerala as a ‘mad rush’ and said that young people fail and don’t benefit much from migration. He also said that overseas employment as care providers, a growing form of employment in the developed countries, was a form of ‘slavery’. 

The increasing migration of youth as students, their aspirations for overseas jobs and the conditions of overseas employment deserve attention.  However, the views expressed during the interview are alarmist and therefore call for more discussion.  It would be a disservice to Malayali youth not to engage more carefully with the diversity of their aspirations to study and / or work abroad.  An alarmist view also reflects a poor understanding of the culture of mobility in state’s like Kerala.  To examine these problems, I take up three issues that were discussed in the interview: a) how do we understand the sharp rise in student migration from India and Kerala in the past few years, b) what are the aspirations of students leading to migration and c) what does it mean to label overseas employment as care providers as slavery and what does such labelling imply about similar forms of employment at home?

Government responses to parliamentary questions show that in 2024, over 13 lakh Indian students were pursuing higher studies abroad.  The increase in migration of students mirrors concerns related to the labour market in India. The Periodic Labour Surveys (PLFS) carried out by the Indian Government show that in 2023-2024, only 21.7 per cent of the Indian workforce had regular/salaried jobs, a decline from 23.8 per cent in 2019-20. According to emigration data, the states that are witnessing the highest levels of student migration are Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala. The PLFS survey data 2023-24 shows that the unemployment rates among graduates in these states, with the exception of Maharashtra, is higher than the national average. Graduate unemployment was 22.6 % in Andhra Pradesh, 21.3 % in Kerala and 16.9 % in Punjab,. A recent opinion piece in the Indian Express by Derek O’ Brien also highlights the unemployment of the educated youth in India, the low earnings in white collar jobs and graduates being forced to take up  blue collar jobs or jobs that do not require graduate degrees.

The PLFS  also provide us the average wage/salary earnings during the preceding calendar month from regular wage/salaried employment.  It would be not be correct to make a direct comparison of domestic earnings and overseas earnings but average earnings according to the PLFS are indicative of the problem.   Given the potential earnings in India, the expected earnings even in care and other manual jobs abroad could be attractive. Online resources like the job portals or Government webpages from some countries that provide information for international students,  show that the manual jobs in these countries, even the part time ones, are much more streamlined and ensure minimum wages that evolve with changing living expenses. For example, In Germany any student working for permitted 20 hours per week at the minimum wage of around 13 euros per hour (2025)  could earn ( even at a conservative estimate) more than an Indian full-time salary. Similar opportunities exist as care workers in Ireland, Australia and the UK.   With the differences in the purchasing power parity, there is a possibility of saving money from these incomes that may be used for investment at home or for further education overseas.

What are the aspirations of students who migrate?  Given the constraints of the domestic labour market and with growing access to online information, it is not surprising that youth are motivated to seek overseas opportunities.   It has been documented that students’ decision to migrate is not only to obtain degrees but a pathway to obtain employment abroad.  The Minister of Welfare of Scheduled Castes,  Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes in the state of Kerala reported that over 1100 SC/ST students benefited from the Unnathi Scholarship’ to pursue higher studies abroad so far. Of 51 Scheduled Castes students who travelled to the UK in January 2024, 47 have applied for post study work Visa. There are certain sectors  that face acute shortages in the major destination countries and international students find it easy to obtain visas for employment in these sectors post education.  The Transnational Education Report 2024-2025 brought out by an educational consultancy, Upgrade, showed a decline in the proportion of students prioritizing permanent residency abroad, as they were focusing on immediate career prospects. A large number of Indians obtaining permanent residence as in the case of Australia where the Department of Home Affairs of Australia reported that during the year 2023-24, 49,848 Indians were admitted as permanent residents, may also encourage migration.

Unlike in India, it is possible to work and finance part of education expenses overseas.  Many overseas students take up manual employment of the kind that is subject to stigma at home.  There is a long history of stigma on paid care work including paid domestic work and nursing in India that derives from a caste-based framework that continues to be dominant.  In the absence of caste, migration makes it possible to engage in these trades without being exposed to the stigma.   

What does it means to label care work delivered abroad as slavery?  First, there is little or no evidence that migrant care givers lack agency or do not make reasoned decisions to work.  Second, such labeling does not square up with the differences between destination countries and India in working conditions, pay and the meanings associated with paid care work.  Third, it fails to engage with the conditions in which paid care work is carried out in India.  In this light, unwittingly perhaps, the Professor’s views implicitly condone a caste based framework that sees paid care provision as demeaning. 

Of course, there are issues of concern related to student and labour migration that need to be addressed by the state through its policies.  To appreciate the seriousness of these concerns, it is not helpful to take an alarmist view or to resort to labeling to attract attention.

Apart from anxiety about ‘brain drain’ from India and concerns about students doing manual or care jobs abroad, information barriers, possible fraud by educational agencies, the rising right wing assertion leading to immigration restrictions and  racial attacks require attention.  On the domestic front, there are instances reported about students aspiring to migrate abroad being cheated by educational agencies on the pretext of guaranteeing jobs.  Much could be done to disseminate information and to extend support structures abroad, aspirational job creation at home and better regulation rather than undermining student aspirations and agency may be the way forward. 

[Shraddha Jain is a doctoral student at Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.]