Push-Pull Determinants Among Bangladeshi Students Enrolled in NCR Private Universities: A Single-Destination Exploratory Study

2026-06-19

AI Summary

This study investigates the motivations driving Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in private universities within India’s National Capital Region (NCR), addressing a critical gap in research on this emerging intra-South Asian destination. Grounded in Lee’s push-pull theory, the research employs a questionnaire survey analyzed through descriptive statistics, K-means clustering, and binary logistic regression, marking the first empirical examination of India’s NCR as a unified study destination. Findings reveal that academic calendar disruptions serve as the primary push factor, while geographic and cultural proximity alongside visa accessibility act as key pull factors. Satisfaction with infrastructure emerges as the strongest predictor of students’ willingness to recommend the destination. Moreover, three distinct decision-making profiles—comprehensively driven, proximity-oriented, and low-salience—are identified, underscoring the pivotal role of composite accessibility in shaping regional student mobility patterns.

Abstract

International student mobility from Bangladesh is a significant feature of South Asian higher education, yet India's National Capital Region (NCR) remains underexplored as a destination for outbound Bangladeshi students. This exploratory single-destination study examines push-pull factors among Bangladeshi students enrolled at private universities in India's NCR. A structured online survey was administered to students at Sharda University, Noida International University, and Galgotias University (n = 63; n = 56 after quality filtering). Descriptive statistics, K-means clustering, and binary logistic regression were applied within Lee's push-pull framework. Political and administrative disruption in Bangladesh's academic calendar was the leading push factor (M = 3.73). Geographical and cultural proximity was the strongest pull factor (M = 3.80), closely followed by visa accessibility (M = 3.73), with no significant mean difference between them. Australia and Germany were the most frequently considered alternative destinations (33.9% each). Advisory networks influenced 73.2% of respondents under a broad threshold and 66.1% under a stricter threshold, mainly for university and course selection. Satisfaction and recommendation intent were positively associated, and infrastructure satisfaction showed the strongest association with high recommendation intent in a five-predictor logistic model (OR = 2.54, 95% CI [1.09, 5.89]). K-means clustering produced three exploratory decision-profile groups: Comprehensively Motivated, Proximity-Led Enrollers, and Low-Salience Enrollers. The findings suggest that geographic nearness, cultural familiarity, and visa accessibility may operate as a composite accessibility advantage in this short-haul intra-regional corridor.

Problem

• push-pull factors
• international student mobility
• Bangladeshi students
• NCR private universities
• intra-regional education

Innovation

• push-pull factors
• single-destination study
• K-means clustering
• intra-regional student mobility
• composite accessibility advantage