India tries to lure foreign colleges to cash in demographic dividend

When 19-year old Pavitra Singh, one of 20 million students at India’s universities and colleges, gets her degree in two years’ time, she fears it will not be enough to secure a job. Indian employers tend to agree. Many say graduates from homegrown universities are often unemployable because job seekers do not have the skills they want, one reason why New Delhi is trying to fast-track legislation to allow foreign colleges, until now largely shut out of the country, to open their own campuses in the country.

On the cusp of a boom in its working-age population, country is racing against time to raise the quality of its education to prevent a demographic dividend turning into a demographic curse. “It is absolutely urgent,” said Tobias Linden, the World Bank’s lead education specialist in India. “The people who will make up the youth bulge have already been born. This is not a hypothetical situation. They might just be one, or two, or three years old now, but taking action to help them when they become 18 – those moves have to start now.”

Over the next two decades, Asia’s third-largest economy will add up to 300 million people – the equivalent of almost the entire population of the United States – to its workforce. That prospect offers hope that India, struggling now with its weakest economic growth in a decade, can finally follow in the footsteps of the likes of China and the Asian Tigers.

A generation ago these countries made good use of their growing workforces, training young people and putting them to work in export-orientated manufacturing, to generate economic growth that was the envy of the world.

Best Chance
India’s working-age population will not peak until 2035, in contrast to China, where the working-age population topped out this year, brokerage Espirito Santo Securities says. Labour forces in South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore will peak in the next five years. Such demographic factors offer India “the most compelling conditions for economic growth the country will, we argue, ever have”, the brokerage said in a report. “Yet demographics are not destiny.”

Attracting foreign colleges to open campuses in the country is one solution for a university system that the planning commission says is “plagued by a shortage of well trained faculty, poor infrastructure and outdated and irrelevant curricula.” Despite a surplus of workers, employers across sectors say local universities do a poor job of preparing graduates for working life. None of India’s universities feature in the world’s top 200, the 2013/14 rankings by the London-based education group Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) show, versus seven from China.

Many homegrown universities rely on rote-learning and fail to teach the “soft skills” that are increasingly important in the country, where the services sector has driven the economic growth of the last two decades, recruiters and students say. “We don’t learn here – we are just taught to mug up, so it’s hard for us when we go out to find jobs,” said Singh, an undergraduate at one of the country’s largest private colleges, Amity University, referring to the teaching style across the country. “I’m worried that when I get to my first internship, I won’t know how to do anything.”

Foreign universities have been largely shut out of India, allowed only to open research centres, teach non-academic courses or offer degree courses with a local partner. Now, the government wants to offer them the more lucrative option of opening their own campuses.

Catch Up
The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) is trying to issue what is in effect an executive order, which would leapfrog a bill stuck in parliament since 2010, one casualty of a legislative logjam that has paralysed Indian policy making over the last two years. Despite scepticism from many institutions that India will be able to change its game with elections looming by next May, some foreign universities are keen to push ahead with campuses.

“A campus in India has always been our vision and that is our plan,” said Guru Ghosh, the Vice-President for Outreach and International Affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, known as Virginia Tech. It is due to launch a research centre near Chennai in spring 2014 and hopes to set up a campus within 3-5 years if the rules change, Ghosh said.

Under the proposed rules, non-profit foreign universities in the top 400 worldwide would be able to open campuses. The rules need a final sign-off from the law ministry, which will take up to three months, according to RP Sisodia, Joint Secretary for Higher Education at the MHRD.

While India has dithered, other Asian countries have moved ahead, with foreign universities in Malaysia and Singapore attracting Indian students. Spokespeople for Stanford University, the University of Chicago, Duke University and the UK’s University of Northampton told Reuters they had no plans for a campus in India, even though they all have or plan to have research centres or offer courses on a local campus.

“The environment has not been a welcoming one thus far and people have looked elsewhere,” said Vincenzo Raimo, Director of the International Office at Britain’s University of Nottingham, which has campuses in China and Malaysia. “Anyone who’s going to open there (India) needs to be brave.” Foreign colleges would only meet a tiny portion of country’s demand for places, but their presence would put pressure on domestic counterparts to improve, higher education experts say.

To be sure, the planning commission has set a target of creating 10 million more university places in the next few years and boosting funds for the top domestic universities to try to elevate them to the ranks of the world’s top 200 by 2017.

If India fails to harness its population boom over the next two decades, its demographics could be “a disaster – not a dividend”, Espirito Santo said. “A major shortage of jobs in the economy, or a skills mismatch, would create a young, angry and frustrated population,” its report said.

Source: The Economic Times (Online Edition), October 3, 2013

For Indian academics, foreign varsities’ entry means strong tie-ups, sharper research and best of global faculty

The government’s recent move to allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India is seen facilitating collaborative research and opening up the domestic academic environment to the latest pedagogies and curriculum of the West even as global varsities learn more about a major emerging market economy. The move could benefit millions of meritorious students who are rejected from the system due to the lack of seats in colleges. Ivy league institutes, which have ruled out any immediate intention of opening campus here, will continue to enhance their research tie-ups with local institutes and forge new forms of collaborations. Some Tier-2 institutes could also make an entry.

“Existing relationships rely mostly on institutional initiative and faculty-to-faculty collaboration. Having these world-class institutions in India will give a boost to high-quality research being done in the country,” says Ajit Rangnekar, Dean, Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. Once the foreign universities are here, more collaboration will take place on varied fronts and Indian institutions will benefit from some of the modern pedagogic styles of these institutions, he says. Moreover, there will be better opportunities for the Indian talent pool in terms of faculty and educational experts.

Several of India’s top management and engineering institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and ISB, already have various tie-ups with global varsities through faculty, student exchange and research. The government’s move will further strengthen those associations and lead to exploring new tie-ups.

IIT-Delhi, for the first time ever, is likely to offer a joint degree programme with Toyo University of Japan. The institute currently has research partnerships with Toyo University in bio nano. “Some other universities have also expressed interest and we are trying to look at various ways to collaborate,” says Anurag Sharma, Dean-Academics at IIT-Delhi. Research collaboration would be a key area once some of the global institutes register their physical presence here, says Suneet Tuli, Dean, Research and Development at IIT-Delhi.

IIT-Madras, which already has a joint doctoral programme with the National University of Singapore (NUS), is in the process of forming similar associations with University of Passau, Germany, Michigan State University, and NTHU Taiwan. These tie-ups to offer joint doctoral degrees include faculty collaboration, coaching, serving on each others’ doctoral committee, etc. The value of co-existence lies more in research and other forms of collaboration, says Prof. R. Nagarajan, Dean – International and Alumni Relations at IIT-Madras.

Last week, the government opened the doors for top foreign universities to set up campuses in India and award degrees, giving Indian students the opportunity to study in global institutions without leaving home or spending a fortune. The move has been welcomed by Indian institutes, academicians, and industry leaders. Among several associations with global institutes, IIT-B and Monash University in Australia have a tie-up in the form of the IITB-Monash Research Academy, where students are doing doctoral research. “IIT-Bombay’s associations with international universities are primarily focused on postgraduate education and research. There may not be immediate opportunities for such interactions while these universities are starting up here. However, in the longer-term, we may seek collaborations in areas of mutual interest,” says Prof. Devang Khakhar, Director, IIT-Bombay.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge is in India to explore research partnerships with Indian institutes, academia and industry. The university is working with IIT-Bombay, among others in India, in the field of nanoscience and nano-technology. “We are looking for serious partnerships with Indian institutions based on excellence. Our focus will be on research and deep collaboration to jointly tackle some of the world’s recent problems,” says Prof. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge. This is also an opportunity for top institutes to showcase their research. “IIMs will get the opportunity to showcase their academic professionalism and research,” says Prof. S. Raghunath, Dean-Administration, IIM-B.

However, the institutes that are likely to benefit most from global varsities opening campuses in India would be those that do not yet have access to global universities, says IIT-M’s Nagarajan. Under the proposed rules of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), foreign educational institutions — before setting up campus in India and being notified as a Foreign Education Provider (FEP) under the Universitiy Grants Commission (UGC) – would be required to maintain a corpus of a minimum of Rs. 25 crore (Rs. 250 million). The rules also provide for penalties ranging from Rs. 5 million to Rs. 10 million for FEPs that contravene any provision of these rules or UGC Act, and the forfeiting of the corpus fund.

But these rules are a cause for some concern. The government must come up with a differentiated policy for top schools in order to attract them here in the interest of long-term collaborative relationships and establishing a technologically-savvy infrastructure, says IIM-B’s Raghunath. “Of particular concern is the requirement that all the new institutions must conform to UGC standards. Unless UGC recognises merit and accordingly adjusts its compliance requirements, India runs the risk of alienating high-quality foreign players,” says SP Kothari, Deputy Dean, MIT Sloan School of Management.

MIT Sloan School of Management, like other top institutes including Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Cambridge University have ruled out the possibility of opening campuses here. They are, however, keen to continue engaging with students, academia and industry here through research, faculty exchange, and executive education programmes.

Source: The Economic Times, September 20, 2013

Foreign universities will have to be non-profit making entities

After long deliberation, University Grants Commission (UGC) and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) have formalized the rules for establishment of campuses of foreign universities/educational institutions in India.

The rules, to be notified in July, state that the Indian campus of a foreign educational provider would be a non-profit making legal entity. Hence, foreign education providers would have to first form a company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. Companies under Section 25 are non-profit entities.

Foreign education providers, before being notified, would have to maintain a corpus of at least Rs. 250 million for each campus they propose to establish. Each provider would be allowed a maximum of four campuses. Out of the income received from the corpus fund, the foreign education provider would not be allowed to utilize more than 75% income for the purpose of development. The remaining income would be deposited into the corpus fund. The education providers would also not be allowed to invest surplus revenue for any purpose other than for the growth and development of the institutions.

They would not be allowed to offer any course that adversely affects the sovereignty and integrity of India or its friendly relations with other countries. Only those education providers placed in the top 400 institutions as per the world university rankings by Times Higher Education or World University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) or Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University would be allowed. Education providers who have been in the field of education for more than 20 years in the parent country and are accredited there would be allowed to set up campus in India.

Applications would have to be endorsed by the Embassy or High Commission of the institution’s home country in India. The education providers would have to mandatorily publish prospectus with details of courses, fee and other charges as well as money to be refunded.

The UGC rules also provide for penalty if an institution is not a foreign education provider, has not been recognized or whose recognition has been withdrawn offers admission in violation of the provisions or publishes or releases misleading advertisement. Minimum penalty would be Rs. 5 million extendable to Rs. 10 million.

Source: The Times of India, June 22, 2013

Quietly, India makes foreign varsity collaborations harder

Only the best foreign universities and the top layer of Indian varsities will be allowed to collaborate under new regulations the University Grants Commission (UGC) is proposing, at a time when a long-awaited law to streamline global tie-ups lies entangled in a web of bureaucratic and political indecision. The UGC regulations will create a mechanism that will allow universities in the US, UK and other developed countries keen to tap the Indian student market an opportunity to join hands with Indian institutions to both offer academic programmes and to conduct research together.

But the new regulations finalized by the UGC at its last meeting are tougher than the Foreign Educational Institutions (FEI) Bill that global varsities were eying as their window into India. The UGC resolved that only “those foreign institutions which are accredited with the highest grade in their homeland should be allowed to collaborate with those Indian institutions which are also accredited with the highest grade by the recognized Indian accrediting agencies.”

Several public universities – including each of Gujarat’s seven universities and Kerala’s two varsities – which have a ‘B’ rating from the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) will be unable to collaborate under the UGC regulations if the higher education regulator sticks to its resolution.

Internationally, while a few foreign universities – including Duke and VirginiaTech in the US – have expressed interest in setting up campuses in India, many others, including some Ivy League institutions, are keen on increased collaboration with Indian counterparts.

Currently, Indian institutions can conduct joint research on a project-by-project basis. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and many other public and private universities also have tie-ups for faculty and student exchange programmes with universities abroad. But Indian law forbids jointly offered degrees and more sustained research collaboration, and bars foreign universities from setting up brick and mortar campuses in India.

The FEI Bill, drafted both as an instrument to allow foreign institutions legal entry into India, and as a mechanism to regulate unauthorized programmes already running here, was introduced in Parliament in 2010. But the draft legislation – that requires applicant foreign institutions to be accredited but not necessarily with the highest grade – has remained stalled in the corridors of power since. The Parliament Standing Committee on human resource development has raised concerns about the legislation.

Sensing political opposition to the plan at a time when it is already struggling for numbers in Parliament, the UPA government has placed the FEI bill on a backburner. Instead, the UGC regulations are aimed at allowing collaboration without permitting brick and mortar campuses or standalone programmes offered by foreign institutions alone.

Source: Hindustan Times, April 5, 2013

Foreign universities keep India entry plans in the freezer

When the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulations of Entry and Operations) Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2010, no less than 50 foreign universities evinced interest in setting up operations in India. Two years down the line, their interest seems to have dwindled, and the reason is not hard to fathom — the Bill is still gathering dust. “Delay in passing the Bill has affected sentiments. People no longer come to us showing interest to be part of the Indian higher education system,” said an official of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

“Earlier, we would receive about 10 enquiries from foreign players a month; nowadays, we hardly get any. There is a limit to which people can wait. And people who mean business will certainly not hold on for ever,” added another ministry official. MHRD officials said following the [Parliamentary] Standing Committee’s recommendations on the Bill, the ministry had finalised its view. However, it is holding on till some of the other Bills get through. “We do not know if the plans of foreign players still stand. It is the overall atmosphere that matters. Besides, right now we are not worried about the interest of foreign players. The priority is passing the Bill,” the officials said.

Several international education institutions, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Virginia Tech, Columbia University, University of Southern California and University of Alabama, had earlier expressed interest to have an India presence. Meanwhile, the MHRD has reviewed certain clauses in the Foreign Education Providers (Regulation) Bill to attract more overseas institutions looking to set up shop in India.

The recommendation by the Standing Committee has led to a revision in the minimum corpus of Rs. 500 million for a foreign institution to set up campus in India. However, the corpus will not be Rs. 500 million for every institution as envisaged earlier. Instead, the corpus will be based on certain classifications. For instance, for engineering, vocational and other programmes, it could be less than Rs. 500 million whereas for medical programmes, the corpus could be more than that, which the health ministry will decide.

The norms have been tweaked after education institutions, including community colleges, vocational training institutions, professional colleges, general education institutions and medical institutions had expressed interest in setting up operations. The MHRD will also review the pre-condition that stipulates that a foreign education institution can’t utilise more than 75 per cent of the corpus fund towards development of the institution in India. The ministry might allow these institutes to invest the surplus in growth of the institution after a certain lock-in period.

“A clause in the Bill said you create a corpus, which will see an accretion. But at no point will the institutes be able to utilise more than 75 per cent for development of the institution. Besides, no part of your revenues can be repatriated. You can, however, use 100 per cent of the same for further investment on the institute,” explained an official.

Several important Bills, such as the Educational Tribunals Bill, Foreign Education Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010, and National Council for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), 2011, among others, are still pending before Parliament. MHRD is hopeful that some Bills will be passed in the forthcoming winter session.

Source: Business Standard, October 11, 2012

MHRD not to push for Foreign Educational Institutions Bill

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has decided not to push the legislation allowing foreign education institutions to set up base in India in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Instead, the ministry is focusing on the troika of higher education reform bills — prevention of malpractices, setting up education tribunals and mandatory accreditation for institutions — which form the core of Kapil Sibal’s higher education reform agenda.

The human resource development minister Kapil Sibal’s decision to put the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill on the back burner is in line with the strategy adopted in the Budget session—move ahead with the less contentious bills to create a momentum. In the past, Sibal has pushed the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill as central to increasing opportunities and improving quality of the higher education sector. However, the minister is well aware that a bill as contentious as one, which allows foreign education institutions to set up campuses in India, could well derail his entire legislative agenda.

There are seven Bills that are pending in Parliament. The ministry proposes to introduce two more — the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Bill and the Central Board of Secondary Education — in the Monsoon Session.

After nearly two years of legislative setbacks, Sibal managed to break the logjam in the Budget session of parliament and ensured passage of six Bills. While most of these Bills were non-controversial amendments, it did include the contentious Copyright Amendment Bill. Sibal is keen not to upset the hard won equilibrium.

The Foreign Educational Institutions Bill predates Sibal’s tenure in Shastri Bhavan. It was first cleared by Cabinet in 2008 during the late Arjun Singh’s tenure in the UPA-I government. The proposed legislation could not be introduced given the opposition by the Left, which was then supporting the UPA-I government. Following his appointment as human resource development minister, Sibal went ahead with the legislation reaching out to stakeholders, and meeting with top administrators of top ranking universities in the US and UK.

But it is not just the Left or the BJP that has issues with the Bill. Even political parties that are supporting the UPA, such as the Samajwadi Party and RJD, are uncomfortable with the idea of allowing foreign education institutions to set up campuses in India. Given that the legislation is viewed as permitting foreign direct investment in higher education, it is unlikely that allies like Trinamool Congress and DMK will lend their support to such legislation. Clearly aware that the legislative route was difficult, the government gave the University Grants Commission (UGC) the go ahead through the executive route. The University Grants Commission has already issued guidelines to regulate collaborations between Indian and foreign institutions.

The focus is on the three legislations that form the bedrock of Sibal’s higher education reforms — Higher Educational Institutions Bill (earlier known as the Prohibition of Unfair Practices Bill), Educational Tribunal Bill and the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill.

These legislations form a higher education reform triad, and were conceived of as linked legislations. However, with the Rajya Sabha not passing the educational tribunal bill, the remaining two legislations could not be taken up. The ministry has decided to delink these legislations. This will mean removing cross-references.

Changes have been made to the bills on the basis of inputs from MPs during the discussions Sibal held with them to garner support. Some of the changes are on the basis of recommendations of the Standing Committee. A clear measure of Sibal’s keeness to push through his pending Bills is evident from the fact that many these changes are clearly trivial or routine, and as such make no material difference to the legislation. Similarly other efforts have also been made to reach out to MPs. The minister has recently approved increasing the MP’s quota in Kendriya Vidyalayas (Central Schools) from two seats to six. Sibal had earned the displeasure of MPs when he abolished the quota early on in his tenure.

Sibal has also been meeting with leaders of the opposition, allies and UPA supporters to ensure safe passage for his Bills. These meetings have been with individual leaders as well as small groups of MPs who are seen as vocal on education related issues. Sources close to the developments said that the minister and officials sought to address each of the issues, through careful reading and threadbare discussion on the bills, in an effort to allay apprehensions of the political parties. Legislations to curb malpractices and mandatory accreditation are likely to be passed without much trouble. The minister is expected to hold additional meetings with allies and party members on the tribunal bill, which had been opposed by Congress members in the Rajya Sabha.

Source: The Economic Times (Online Edition), August 8, 2012

Bills stuck, Sibal looks at deemed varsities route

In the works since UPA-I and reworked in UPA-II, the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill may or may not find passage through Parliament but HRD Minister Kapil Sibal is leaving nothing to chance. Attempts are afoot to facilitate the entry of foreign universities as deemed to be universities if necessary without need for any legislation.

A committee has now been constituted to review the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulation 2010, and examine the possibility of allowing foreign institutions to set up campus in India through this route. The committee has been given a timeframe until July-end to submit its report and will also look into the regulations with a view to weed out anomalies and also ensure it is compatible with other UGC regulations. This committee will also seek public opinion on the regulations.

The very regulations it has now ordered to be reviewed were brought in by UGC in 2010 after an HRD committee recommended blacklisting of 44 deficient deemed to be universities and the issue landed in the Supreme Court. The stringent regulations aimed at reining in errant deemed varsities have also been challenged by varsities on various counts. For instance, the selection process for vice-chancellors as delineated in these regulations differs from the selection procedure outlined in other UGC regulations.

That apart, the regulations have also been questioned for forbidding the trustees of the deemed to be university from taking up authoritative positions like that of the Chancellor at the varsity.That the ministry continues to look for non-legislative ways to push through intended reforms even when Bills on that issue are currently pending in Parliament not only indicates that it is in a hurry but also that it probably has little hope in the reform Bills finding passage in Parliament.

Minister Kapil Sibal has as may as 14 Bills stuck in Parliament until before this session wherein five legislation were finally passed.

Source: The Indian Express, June 5, 2012

UGC defers plan to allow entry of foreign varsities

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Saturday deferred a controversial proposal to allow the entry of foreign educational institutions within the existing legal framework. However, it gave ‘in principle approval’ to regulations on collaborative and joint courses. ‘The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill 2010,’ is pending in Parliament as several parties are opposed to some of the provisions which would allow foreign universities to operate in India. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has made several recommendations to the Bill and they were being considered by the government.

The move by the UGC was seen by some of the academic experts, who do not wish to be identified, as allowing the foreign universities to come in without a legislative framework. They are also of the view that such a move would be in violation of the provisions of the UGC Act, 1956. The UGC approved ‘in principle’ regulations on allowing twinning and joint degree programmes between the “top ranking foreign educational institutions and the best Indian universities.” Only the best universities of the country would be allowed to have tie-up with the internationally accredited 500 foreign universities and the courses would have to be completed in both universities.

As per the guidelines, foreign universities entering into tie-ups with Indian partners should be among the top 500 ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Ranking or by Shanghai Jiaotong University. The degrees will be granted by the Indian universities. The Hindu had on Friday reported that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was trying to identify possibilities of allowing the foreign educational institutions into the country as it was finding it hard to push through the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 in Parliament due to lack of numbers in Rajya Sabha.

The UGC called a special meeting and the only two items on the agenda had the possibility of allowing foreign educational institutions to enter as ‘deemed universities’ under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or as private universities under the State laws, and drafting regulations on twinning programmes and joint degree programmes. According to informed sources, some members of the UGC strongly opposed the proposal to allow the foreign universities when a Bill was already pending in Parliament. Also the UGC Act, 1956 would not be applicable to foreign universities without amendments. “The UGC chairperson and the Higher Education Secretary concurred with the objections and agreed to defer the item,” UGC sources told The Hindu.

The panel members approved the regulations on joint programmes as it was felt it was necessary to curb the ‘fly-by-night’ operators in the country. Once the regulations come into effect, such operators will have to wind up. As of now, only technical and management courses of foreign institutions are allowed in India as they are regulated by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) Act. However, a large number of courses across the board are being conducted in an unregulated manner. The UGC in 2003 mooted a proposal on regulation of entry and operation of foreign universities but did not pursue it after it was brought to the notice of the UGC by its legal experts that the UGC Act does not permit regulation of foreign universities.

S. Vaidhyasubramaniam, Dean of Sastra University, said the decision to allow only top 500 foreign universities in collaborative mode was a good first step in the interest of the existing faculty crisis and poor research productivity in Indian higher education. Such collaboration should begin with Post Graduate and Ph.D. programmes only, he said.

Source: The Hindu, June 3, 2012

UGC to let only top 500 foreign universities enter India

In an attempt to rein in fly-by-night operators who have set up shops in India, the Universities Grants Commission (UGC) has made its approval mandatory for all collaborations between foreign and Indian educational institutions. The new regulations approved by the UGC give existing institutions six months to get approval.

The UGC has also laid down dual criteria to ensure that quality academic institutions are allowed to run joint degree or twinning courses. Only those foreign institutions will be allowed to collaborate who figure in the top 500 of the Times Higher Education World University Ranking or the Shanghai Jiaotong ranking.

The Indian varsities should have received the highest accreditation grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) to be eligible for a tie-up with a foreign institution.

“We would like only quality academic institutions to establish programmes here to protect students’ interests. We will issue a public notice and also put up a list on our website detailing approved institutions so that students are not duped,” Prof Ved Prakash, UGC acting chairman, said.

The degrees will be awarded by the Indian universities for their acceptability in India. Institutes failing to abide by the guidelines would be penalized. The UGC is empowered to stop grants in case of public institutions while it can recommend to the Centre withdrawal of recognition in case of deemed universities.

The guidelines come at a time when the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations Bill) 2010 has been pending before Parliament for the past two years. There has been growing concern in recent years that fake foreign varsities were duping students. Now, over 600 foreign education institutions operate in the country.

The UGC put its plan to allow foreign universities to set up campus on hold after a large number of members felt that there was need for greater deliberations. “It was felt that there was need for more detailed deliberations with statutory councils from different areas of study, including technical, medical, law and architecture,” said Prakash.

A UGC member said that several members questioned the need to allow foreign varsities to function as “deemed universities”. Considering the overwhelming view, the decision was deferred.

Source: The Times of India, June 3, 2012

UGC lens on foreign institutions

The Universities Grants Commission (UGC) will discuss a regulatory framework to regulate foreign educational institutions in its meeting on Saturday.

The decision to draft laws to regulate foreign universities comes at a time when the Foreign Educational Institutions (Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010, is pending before Parliament. “There was a need to create a framework to regulate universities of dubious reputation. The Commission will be discussing that in its meeting on Saturday,’’ said Prof Ved Prakash, UGC acting chairman.

The Commission will also look at regulations for twinning and joint degree programmes between foreign and Indian educational institutions. Sources said that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had earlier this year asked the UGC to address the issue of fake foreign universities following students’ complaints.

The Commission had set up a panel under C N Rao to study the issue. The report is also likely to be discussed in the meeting.

Source: The Times of India, June 2, 2012