GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
Source: IE
Direction: The article highlights the key provisions, significance and concerns with respect to the draft regulations of the UGC for setting up and operating campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India.
Context: The University Grants Commission (UGC) released the draft UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations 2023.
Background: The National Education Policy, 2020, envisages a legislative framework to allow top global universities to operate in India.
Highlights of the draft:
- It seeks to allow foreign universities –
- To set up their campuses in India.
- Decide their admission process, fee structure (to be reasonable), etc.
- To repatriate funds (to be governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999) to their parent campuses.
- The operation of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions shall not be contrary to the –
- Sovereignty and integrity of India
- Security of the State
- Friendly relations with foreign States
- Public order, decency, morality
- Standards of higher education in India
- Top 500 global rankings or “reputed” universities are eligible to apply and will be granted approval to operate for 10 years.
- The regulations provide foreign institutions complete autonomy to hire faculty and other staff members either from abroad or in India.
- The UGC will have the right to inspect the campuses at any time and such campuses will not be outside the purview of anti-ragging and other criminal laws.
The application process:
- A web-based portal maintained by the UGC will receive proposals → A committee formed by the UGC will evaluate the applications and make recommendations within 45 days → The selected applicants will be given about 2 years to set up campuses.
- They will have to mandatorily impart education in offline mode.
Significance of the draft:
- Allowing foreign universities will ensure diverse courses, such as in the fields of urban design and fashion design.
- Reduce forex reserve depletion. In 2022 over 5 lahks (four point five) of Indian students went abroad to study, leading to an outflow of an estimated $28-30 billion.
- Around 40 million students in India, currently pursuing higher education, will have access to global quality education.
Concerns:
- The national security clause is too restrictive in nature. However, any aggrieved party will have the right to approach the judiciary.
- Campuses in Gujarat’s GIFT will remain outside the purview of the UGC regulations.
Insta Links:
Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) to set up campuses abroad
Mains Links:
Q. How have digital initiatives in India contributed to the functioning of the education system in the country? Elaborate on your answer. (UPSC 2020)
