Foreign Universities In India

By
Shishir Jain
MBA – M&S
2009-11
 Quote

“The time has come to create a second

wave of institution building and of
excellence in the fields of education,
research and capability building”
–Dr. Manamohan Singh (Prime Minister of
India)
 History of Education in India
• Some 1500 years ago , more foreign people visited India in search of Knowledge and
Wisdom than any other country. They came in hordes for no other part of the world
could boast of centers of excellence as holy as Nalanda and Taxila.
• These educational institutes in fact arose from the monasteries. History has taken
special care to give Nalanda University, which flourished from the fifth to 13th century
AD, full credit for its excellence
• This university had around 10,000 resident students and teachers on its roll at one
time. These students included Chinese, Sri Lankan, Korean and other international
scholars.
• Medieval period saw excellent interaction between Indian and Islamic traditions in all
fields of knowledge like theology, religion, philosophy, fine arts, painting, architecture,
mathematics, medicine and astronomy.
 World Wide Scenario and India
• Japan with a population of 127 million has 726 universities.
• Germany has 350 universities for its 82 million people.
• United States of America has 2,446 universities for its 300 million
people.
• China in last decade alone has built more than 1000 universities.
And
India with 1.1 billion people has around 350 universities; one fourth of
them were built before Independence.
 Research Scenario
• In 1990 India produced 11,563 research papers to that of
China’s 6,991 and in 2005 India produced 25, 227
papers to that China’s 72,632 in International journals. It
clearly shows downward trend of research activities in
our universities.
• The infrastructure for the R&D of our universities is the
main drawback.
• Even the best universities in India do not have the
resources needed do cutting edge research.
 Higher Education in India
• An estimated 1,60,000 students leave India every year
to study abroad, according to the National Knowledge
Commission, an advisory group to the prime minister.
 Government’s Stand
• Mr Kapil Sibal told the Financial Times: “I
do not see why foreign institutions should
not be allowed. Hopefully, by the first
academic [term] of 2010, we should have
the legislation passed that puts in place a
mechanism, framework and regulator for
the foreign universities to start functioning.”
 Why the foreign universities are
opening centers in India?

• Business and earn money

• Huge population
• Technology upgrade
• Competition and Globalization
 Indian Students going abroad for
Education
• Glamour of foreign degree
• Potential to settle abroad
• Migration of people from one place to another in
the quest of education and knowledge will
always take place.
 Continue
• Whether opening of centers by foreign
universities deteriorate or uplift the standards of
higher education in India?
• There is no reliable data available to us
regarding the courses offered by these centers
and the measures they adopt for quality
assurance.
 Policy guidelines
• Limitation on the remittances.
• Compulsory investment of a portion of surplus
on R & D.
• Non-discrimination in salary structure on ground
of nationality.
• Transparency in admission procedures.
• Earmarking of academic/non- academic posts
for resident Indians, etc.
 Policy guidelines
• Institutions and programs offered by foreign universities should be
properly accredited in their own countries and awards recognized as
equivalent to the awards given for their on -campus programs.
• They shall avoid gross commercialization consistent with the
principle of no-profit-no-loss for education services laid down by the
Supreme Court of India.
• They shall maintain minimum standards as laid down by
a designated agency and will be subject to external quality review.
• They shall furnish all information about their operation in order to
maintain transparency.
 Policy guidelines
• Operations of the foreign educational institutions should
enable positive cross cultural exchanges and not have
deleterious effect on Indian culture and ethos.
• These institutions should be open for participation to all
the citizens of India irrespective of caste, class and
creed.

Source (http://www.policyproposalsforindia.com/foreign-
universities-India.html)
 Points to Ponder
• More Private Universities or more Public Universities ?
• Education reform is likely to provoke fierce debate in
parliament, because some political leaders fear foreign
influence, the prospect of higher fees and disregard of
affirmative action measures.
• Rampant Commercialization
• Some Academicians fear for the quality of education.
 Conclusion
• Foreign Universities should be allowed to open their
campuses in India as it will help the huge population of
students who go to seek education abroad and are
willing to pay for the high fees
but
The quality of education has to be constantly checked and
commercialization has to be stopped by a regulatory
body which is independent and strong like SEBI or TRAI.
 Thanks

Questions ??