Students going to France increasing

The number of Indian students going to France for higher studies this year is a little over 3,000, an increase by 20 percent in the last decade, said Jean Claude Jacq, General Secretary, Foundation Alliance Francaise, Paris, here on Tuesday.

Positive

Mr. Jacq, who was in the city with Anne Garance Primel, a member of the delegate for Asia and Europe, said that apart from last year when there was a slight decline, the overall growth of students going to France for higher education has been positive.

Centres

Mr. Jacq and Ms. Primel will visit all the 15 Alliance Francaise centres in the country.

So far, they have been to five in Bangalore, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pondicherry.

When asked whether there are any plans to open more centres in the country, Mr. Jacq, who overlooks 800 institutions of Alliance Francaise across the world, said, “We don’t want to open more centres, but want to concentrate on the existing ones.

The institutions are all local and we only support it to maintain cultural ties.”

Professional

Jean-Manuel Duhaut, Director, Alliance Francaise, Hyderabad, said that last year 160 students went to France for higher studies from the city. “That is a considerable increase compared to 10 to 15 students who went five years ago when this institution started.

Also, most of the people who come here are professionals who want to learn French, so that they can strengthen their resume,” he added.