According to UGC Chairperson M. Jagadesh Kumar, the draught University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operating of Campuses of Foreign Higher Education Institutions in India) Rules will be adopted in the first week of May.
According to Prof. Kumar, numerous foreign universities and embassies responded to the call, and the UGC was in the final stages of compiling the proposals. Before releasing the guidelines, the UGC would consult with the Central Bank of India and seek legal advice, he added.
Prof. Kumar said most of the suggestions were from universities based in Europe and North America. “Several embassies have also contracted us with their queries and suggestions,” he said.
The UGC put the draught guidelines on its website in January this year. It said the regulations were in line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, for the internationalization of the higher education system in India. The draught said the move was to foster academic collaboration between Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and HEIs.
Prof. Kumar said the setting up of foreign universities in India would be a “win-win situation” for the country. “It will help students develop collaborative research or academic activities with foreign students. There are a number of Indian academics in foreign universities. They can come to India to teach at their own universities.
This will improve the overall standard of higher education in the country,” Prof. Kumar added. He said once the suggestions were incorporated, the UGC would contact the embassies and foreign universities with the amended draught before the final announcement. “This is also to bring awareness about the scope of setting up foreign universities in India,” he said.
The NEP had said that top universities in the world would be facilitated to operate in India, and for this “
A legislative framework facilitating such entry will be put in place, and such universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India.
A regulatory framework allowing the entry of higher-ranked foreign universities, as envisaged in NEP, 2020, will provide an international dimension to higher education, enable Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at an affordable cost, and make India an attractive global study destination. These regulations aim to facilitate the entry of foreign higher educational institutions into India,” the draft said.
The draft added that no foreign HEIs shall set up campuses in India without the approval of the UGC. According to the draught, foreign universities, that had secured a position within the top 500 of the overall or subject-wise global rankings would be allowed to set up campuses in the country.
(Source: The Hindu)
