Panaji: With the rollout of the agreement between France and India for the Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications from May 1, the number of Indian students in French universities will go up substantially, a senior French diplomat has said.

Talking to PTI here on Friday, Consul General of France in Mumbai, Sonia Barbry, said the number of Indian students in her country may go up to 15,000 by 2025 from the current figure of 9,000. Four Indian academic qualifications -- Senior School Certificate (SSC), Bachelor's and Master's degrees and PhDs - from government-approved institutions have been recognised by the French government from May 1. Barbry said inviting Indian students to study in the universities of France has been one of the priorities of the consulate. "We want to have more Indian students. Now, we have 9,000 students studying in France.