India officially opened the door and allowed foreign universities ranking in the top 500 in the world to set up independent branch campuses in the country in November 2023. The development gave them full autonomy to decide their admission processes, fee structures, and curriculum, following the release of the University Grants Commission Regulations under the National Education Policy 2020.
The University of Southampton was the first to unveil its offshore campus in Gurugram, with the Union education minister and the chief minister of Haryana present at the event, calling it a “landmark step” in India’s higher education journey. This signalled the high priority accorded to the entire scheme of allowing foreign Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) to set up shop in India. About 15 more foreign universities have been given the green signal to set up campuses here.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions to offer Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes) Regulations, 2022, strongly envisage that this idea shall promote enhanced academic collaboration with foreign higher educational institutions, leading toward academic and research excellence in the Indian higher educational institutions.
It was also expected that academic and research collaboration, as well as mobility of students and faculty through joint degree and dual degree programmes, would be highly beneficial for the Indian higher educational institutions to achieve higher global rankings.
Meanwhile, it was noticed that some foreign HEIs entered into unrecognised collaborations with Indian higher educational institutions and entered into franchise arrangements with ed-tech companies to offer degree and diploma programmes in online mode, which were not permitted under the UGC Regulations, 2022.
The UGC initiated a course correction through a public notice issued in December 2023, stating that “no Foreign Higher Educational Institution shall offer any programme in India without the prior approval of the Commission and that the HEIs shall not offer programmes under any franchise arrangement and that such programmes shall not be recognised by the UGC.”
Balancing growth with regulation
The UGC’s concern and logic are understandable, as foreign universities cannot be allowed to use India as a consumer market and operate through fly-by-night entities to make money from students who are desperate to have a ‘foreign degree’, which ultimately is of no use for either capacity building or employment.
A large number of students go abroad after qualifying through strenuous entrance tests and rigorous interviews, incur heavy expenses, take high-interest education loans or sell valuable family properties, like land and gold, among other assets. Many of them return to join the ever-increasing group of ‘educated unemployed’ and are often compelled to accept a low-paying job not necessarily commensurate with their qualifications. Considering the woes of these students, inviting foreign universities to India is laudable as it would reduce the financial burden of these students considerably.
While this idea can be touted as a game-changer for the university education system, its success depends on whether the government and its agencies ensure compliance, prevent quality dilution, avert regulatory arbitrage and control fee structure. Besides, there is always the risk of attracting highly qualified faculty from Indian universities and jurisdiction issues.
It is no secret that several universities in America, Europe and the UK have thrived on Indian students for mutual benefit. While these universities collected heavy revenue through fees and accommodation facilities, students found lucrative job opportunities and citizenship avenues. Considering the better standards of living in the West, the rush became a serious issue of not just deserting India but also a question of ‘brain drain’.
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Flip side of HEIs
The recent geopolitical dynamics seem to be altering this scene to the disadvantage of these foreign HEIs. HEIs in the UK are said to have reported about a 76 per cent drop in enrolment from Indian students. While many other destinations have opened up, these HEIs are also reporting revenue loss and hence their urgency in setting up shop in India.
Many of these foreign HEIs have now tweaked their models and are establishing independent campuses and creating permanent faculty, a deviation from the earlier model, which relied on visiting faculty. This ensures a better teaching and research system. The foreign universities would bring with them very high operational, administrative and academic standards. It would be a great opportunity for Indian HEIs to learn and replicate some of these ‘best practices’.
But the flip side is that many of them are recruiting highly qualified Indian faculty, thus draining Indian universities and technical institutions like the IIMs and IITs of their elite faculty, a new wave of ‘faculty brain drain’. There is also the issue of pay scales, highly regulated by the government for domestic HEIs, while no such restriction exists for foreign institutions. The service tenure is also highly unjust for faculty under UDC regulations, as they are expected to retire by the age of 65 in many cases, an age of maturity and accomplishment. The UGC should seriously consider increasing the retirement age of university faculty.
The regulatory framework that guides and oversees the HEIs, both in the public and private sectors, has such a large labyrinth of rules and regulations that institutions often have to work overtime to cope with these procedures. This involves a huge amount of revenue allocation, trained staff and an expert panel of advisors and educational and technical consultants.
While foreign institutions are welcome, the government needs to seriously consider providing a level playing field, just as it is sought to be introduced in industry and investments. The Gift City in Gujarat seems to be a preferred destination for many of them. But it has its own limitations of space. There could be more gift cities in other urban centres, but that will surely add to greater urbanisation and related issues. Besides, private HEIs are also facing several problems which the government needs to solve and facilitate better service provision without restricting their autonomy.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)