NITI Aayog Seeks UGC & AICTE’s Views on Allowing Foreign Universities in India
- At present, India lacks a legal framework on permitting international universities to set up campuses in India.
- The think-tank of the government, NITI Aayog has sought AICTE and UGC opinion on the same.
NITI Aayog has sought the opinion of AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) and University Grants Commission (UGC) on allowing foreign universities in India. On January 22, 2018, the Executive Council of AICTE met the officials of NITI Aayog in a meeting. During the meeting, NITI Aayog sought the opinion of AICTE regarding permitting international universities in India. Responding to NITI Aayog, AICTE clarified that it is a policy decision and is in the hands of UGC to take a decision in this regard.
At present, India lacks a legal framework on permitting international universities to set up campuses in India. According to the UGC Act, only those universities set up by a state legislature, Parliament of India and deemed universities are allowed to award degrees.
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Several engineering and managementcolleges across the country have tied-up with international universities under a collaborative twinning programme. As a part of this tie-up, students get an opportunity to spend a semester or a year on campuses abroad, but nonetheless, the official degree is awarded by the Indian institute.
According to sources, the HRD Ministry is also looking into the issue of allowing international universities in India. However, the ministry is not in favour of allowing for-profit institutes to set up campuses in India. While a decision regarding this is yet to be taken, AICTE is busy assessing ways to improve technical education in India and had even proposed 'Exit Exam' for Engineering Graduates to assess employability of student.
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Earlier, several attempts have been made to urge the government to allow foreign institutes in India. But, because of several issues, the proposal ran into opposition and the final decision was not taken.
According to UGC Regulations 2016, Indian institutes can collaborate with foreign institutes only after taking permission from UGC to do so.