{"id":266390,"date":"2023-10-26T19:35:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=266390"},"modified":"2023-10-26T19:35:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:05:39","slug":"on-internationalization-of-higher-education-why-india-must-offer-student-work-visas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/on-internationalization-of-higher-education-why-india-must-offer-student-work-visas\/","title":{"rendered":"On internationalization of higher education -Why India must offer student work visas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> The post on <strong>internationalization of higher education <\/strong>is based on the article \u201c<strong>Why India must offer student work visas<\/strong>\u201d published in <strong>\u201cIndian Express\u201d<\/strong> on 26th October 2023.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> GS2 Governance &#8211; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector\/Services relating to <strong>Education.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The article discusses India&#8217;s aim to internationalize its higher education. Many Indian students study abroad due to varied college quality at home. India struggles to attract and retain foreign students, mainly because they can&#8217;t work after studying. Changes in visa policies are suggested to address this.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the meaning of internationalizing higher education?<\/h2>\n<p>According to the International Association of universities, Internationalization of higher education is the process of integrating an international\/intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service elements of an institution.<\/p>\n<p>This ensures that students, faculty, and the community experience a globalized curriculum and environment, preparing them for a more interconnected world.<\/p>\n<p>It also helps one to understand and appreciate diverse cultural and ethnic groups, including those within one&#8217;s own country.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEP 2020\u2019s goal: <\/strong>Internationalization of education is one of the goals of NEP 2020. It aims to achieve it by making the Indian education system self-reliant and compliant to global standards &amp; norms. It would help India in attracting students from abroad, in large numbers.<\/p>\n<h2>What is India&#8217;s Student (\u201cS\u201d) visa policy?<\/h2>\n<p>India&#8217;s student visa policy allows foreign students to pursue education in recognized institutions. It is characterized by:<\/p>\n<p>The Student Visa duration is either the course length or 5 years, whichever is shorter.<\/p>\n<p>Working on a student visa is prohibited, but NRIs, OCIs, and PIOs are exempted.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the significance of internationalizing higher education in India?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>1) Raising Standards through collaboration<\/strong> as provided in the NEP 2020: This includes updating syllabi, offering joint degrees with foreign institutions, and enhancing campus diversity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Meeting Demand:<\/strong> Despite having 54,000 colleges, there&#8217;s a gap in quality. This has led to 7.5 lakh Indian students seeking education abroad annually.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3) Economic Opportunities:<\/strong> Attracting foreign students can boost India&#8217;s economy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4) Building Global Networks<\/strong>: Indian companies benefit from hiring foreign talent who understand both India and their home countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5) Addressing Workforce Challenges:<\/strong> India\u2019s aging population means a potential workforce decline. Foreign students working post-studies can help fill this gap.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the concern associated with permitting foreign students to work?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Job Competition:<\/strong> A primary worry is that foreign students might take jobs that would otherwise go to Indian students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bureaucratic Procedures:<\/strong> Currently, foreign students cannot gain work experience post-studies. Changing this requires an amendment to India&#8217;s &#8220;S&#8221; Visa, involving bureaucratic procedures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tax Implications:<\/strong> The Ministry of Finance would need to address how India&#8217;s tax laws and double taxation treaties would apply to income earned by foreign students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Regulatory Coordination:<\/strong> Multiple ministries, including Education, Home Affairs, and Finance, must coordinate closely to implement such changes, which can be a complex task.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Long-term Residency Concerns:<\/strong> While the idea is to offer work status to foreign students, it might lead to concerns about whether this could be a pathway to longer-term residency in India.<\/p>\n<h2>What should be done in this regard?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Amending of Visa Rules:<\/strong> India should modify the \u201cS\u201d Visa policy to allow foreign students to work post-studies in India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Enhancing Coordination between Ministries:<\/strong> The Ministry of Home Affairs needs to work alongside the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education for a cohesive approach to visa and tax issues.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Issuing of Guidelines on Recruitment:<\/strong> The Ministry of Education, through bodies like the UGC and AICTE, should issue guidelines for on-campus hiring of foreign students.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Promoting Higher Education Abroad:<\/strong> India\u2019s Prime Minister has highlighted higher education as a key export sector. For instance, IIMs and IITs are opening branches overseas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Engaging Private Universities:<\/strong> Institutions like Manipal, Sharda, and Amity, which already have foreign campuses, can share insights and best practices.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Involving Indian Companies:<\/strong> They can advocate for student visa changes, benefiting from hiring globally acquainted talent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this era of globalization and the resulting internationalization of education, India should reconsider its stance on student work visas for foreign students. Analyse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: The post on internationalization of higher education is based on the article \u201cWhy India must offer student work visas\u201d published in \u201cIndian Express\u201d on 26th October 2023. UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS2 Governance &#8211; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector\/Services relating to Education. News: The article discusses India&#8217;s aim to internationalize its&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/on-internationalization-of-higher-education-why-india-must-offer-student-work-visas\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">On internationalization of higher education -Why India must offer student work visas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[300,212,10500],"class_list":["post-266390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-governance","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":4,"cached_at":1698450986,"cached_date":1698659655},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266390\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}