UGC Issues Guidelines For International Students; 25% Extra Seats Allotted

The University Grants Commission (UGC) unveiled guidelines for higher educational institutes (HEIs) in India to admit international students and create extra seats for them in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

According to the announcement, HEIs may create up to 25% of supernumerary seats for international students, exceeding their regular enrollment quota. The decision regarding 25% supernumerary seats has to be carried out by the concerned higher educational institutions as per specific guidelines and regulations issued by the regulatory bodies, considering the infrastructure, faculty, and other requirements.

It's important to note that these extra seats are not applicable to students participating in exchange programmes or covered by Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between institutions or governments. Institutions are directed to distribute these supernumerary seats evenly across all departments, schools, centres, or academic units.

The UGC emphasised that these extra seats are only available to students from abroad. They shouldn't be made available to domestic students if they are empty. While PhD seats will be controlled by UGC's declared regulations, supernumerary seats in professional and technical institutes will follow regulations issued by relevant statutory bodies. Additionally, each institution needs to set up a "Office for International Students" in order to keep thorough information about the students, including their nationality, course of study, and length of enrollment.