An India chapter for foreign universities

Source: The post is based on the article “An India chapter for foreign universities” published in The Hindu on 24th January 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education.

Relevance: About foreign universities in India.

News: Recently University Grants Commission (UGC) announced draft regulations for foreign universities setting up campuses in India.

What are the key provisions of UGC’s draft regulations?

What are the advantages of UGC’s draft regulations?

What are the challenges associated with UGC’s draft regulations?

Not address the students concern: Students do not go abroad for degrees alone; they go for the experience, post-study work visas, income opportunities and better career prospects. Studying in a foreign university in India would offer them none of these.

What are the contradictory provisions associated with UGC’s draft regulations?

-The regulation demands that the quality of education imparted by these institutions in India must be on a par with the quality of courses at their campus in the country of origin. Yet, it insists that they must not “offer any such programme of study which jeopardises the national interest of India or the standards of higher education in India”.

-It promises academic, administrative and financial autonomy to foreign institutions but takes that away by asserting that they should abide by all the conditions that the UGC and the Indian government prescribe from time to time.

What should be done?