Mumbai: Foreign universities will have two years to establish their campuses in India with institutions having the opportunity to start with academic programmes earliest by 2025, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar told the Free Press Journal as the statutory body prepares to adopt the draft UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) regulations in the first week of May 2023.
Two processes to be followed for UGC to approve foreign campuses
Though the curriculum of foreign universities in India will be the same as the ones they have implemented back home, their applications will be processed in two subsequent processes.
“First, the foreign university has to apply to UGC when the portal is launched in the coming months. An expert committee will examine this and give their recommendations within 45 days. UGC will consider these recommendations and deliver its decision within 45 days,” stated Mr. Kumar.
Foreign students, especially from Global South, can study in India
Though the foreign universities will be at liberty to determine their syllabus, UGC had suggested in January 2023 that the institutions will not be permitted to impart education in online mode or any form of distance learning.
With physical lectures being significant to the idea of bringing foreign campuses to India, there’s hope in improving the number of international students in the country who might want to study in esteemed institutions but would not like to spend a fortune on living expenses.
India has already seen a dip in the number of foreign students by 2.6% as there were 48,035 international students in 2020-21 compared to 49,348 in 2019-20, as per the latest data released by the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE).
“With the presence of foreign campuses in India, there could be an increase in the number of international students who wish to study in India, particularly from the global south countries,” stated Kumar, who added that India will become an attractive destination for students from South Asia once they enrol in foreign campuses across the country.
Students can avail scholarships, benefits for Indian students
According to Kumar, many Indian students would be eligible to avail of need-based partial and full scholarships offered by the institutions as UGC’s regulations mandate the same. Each campus will decide the procedures for selecting students for such scholarships depending on the policies of its parent university.
Moreover, despite having autonomy in fixing their fee structure, institutions having their presence in India can provide an advantage to Indian students.
“Some foreign delegations have hinted that there is a possibility that Indian students may be charged less as compared to international students. If that is true, foreign university campuses will decide how much less,” asserted Mr. Kumar.
Top universities show interest in setting up branches
With an outflow of 28-30 billion US dollars as lakhs of students choose to study abroad each year, UGC is inviting the top 500 universities across the world to set up shop in India.
According to Kumar, many universities across Europe and North America have already shown an interest.
In an interview with the FPJ, Ivy League University of Pennsylvania’s Indian-origin professors Rajeev Alur and Vijay Kumar expressed optimism at the idea of opening branches in India.
“UPenn can think about opening a branch in India. This change of policy by UGC can be evaluated by the institute and open up a lot of opportunities for Indian students,” stated Prof. Alur, who serves as the Zisman Family Professor of Computer and Information Science at UPenn.
Though Australian universities Deakin and Wollongong are already finalising their plans for a campus in Gujarat’s GIFT city, the institutes are not under the purview of UGC.
“In the rest of the country, wherever the campuses of foreign universities are established, they will operate under UGC regulations,” stated Kumar.
G20 2023 can provide ample opportunities
The G20 Summit in India in September 2023 will also be important for the higher education body to engage with various developed and emerging countries in making their universities have a presence in India.
