Guest Column | Foreign universities in India to transform higher education
Besides the students who choose study abroad as a path to immigration, the rest can take advantage of offshore campuses of FHEIs within India to sharpen their skills and raise their employability status.
Encouraged by the New Education Policy, 2020, the University Grants Commission notified the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023, which eventually kickstarted the internationalisation of the Indian education sector. To ascertain the quality of higher education, the regulations say that only those FHEIs that have secured a position within the top 500 in the overall category of global rankings at the time of application or have secured a position within the top 500 in the subject-wise category of global rankings at the time of application can establish their campuses.
By opening the gates to high-ranking FHEIs, India has initiated a futuristic transformation of its education sector. The entry of reputed FHEIs or institutes of outstanding expertise in a specific area would surely help our youngsters, society as well as the economy in multiple ways in the long run.
Money-saver initiative
Firstly, the presence of reputed FHEIs offshore campuses within the national territory will motivate Indian students to possess valuable certificates/diplomas/degrees at home. Students will be able to gain knowledge from world leaders in higher education. In this way, it will save their parents’ precious lifetime savings or save them from taking expensive loans or selling their properties. Otherwise, if students intend to study abroad, their parents are supposed to spend a huge amount of money. According to an estimate, in 2019 nearly 10 lakh Indian students enrolled in studies abroad, which is anticipated to jump to 20 lakh by 2025.
Cost-wise, Indian students’ overall expenditure on foreign study has surged to US$60 billion in 2023 and by 2025, it is expected to cross US$70 billion. Granting permission to foreign institutes to set up their campuses here will surely result in saving a huge amount of Indian money.
Secondly, the presence of high-ranking offshore campuses of FHEIs will also provide tough competition to state and private campuses, forcing them to raise the bar and scale up hardware and software of education which means upgrading infrastructure, addition of industry and future-friendly courses that ensure supply of skilled manpower to industry and enhance quality of education.
Attracting foreign students
Thirdly, the entry of reputed FHEIs in India will attract more foreign students to India. According to the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) statistics, hardly 40,431 foreign students came to India in 2023 for higher studies, in comparison to more than 7.65 lakh Indian students who went abroad for studies the same year. This is a huge deficit in terms of incoming of foreign students and outgoing of Indian students, both number and revenue-wise. Thus, there is a need to minimise this gap. One option is to add more central, state and private universities which will be a costly and time-consuming process, and even if that happens, it will take a long time in the establishment of a brand name.
So, giving entry tickets to offshore campuses of FHEIs is a right move to attract more foreign students to India not only from the neighbouring nations like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, but also from other nations. This will bring foreign currency to India and enhance India’s image in quality education. Maybe India soon becomes an educational hub for foreign students at least in South Asia.
Settlement via study channel
Though the migration of Indian students abroad is a double blow for India as it results in the loss of revenue and skilled human resources, there are certain push factors. Apart from drivers like (a) wider choice of specific courses/specialisations either not rightly available in India or lack of practical applications, (b) foreign universities’ flexible multi-disciplinary approach towards academics, (c) cost-effective foreign education, especially in medical stream, in comparison to expensive higher education in Indian private institutes, (d) premium quality education along with best research facilities in foreign campuses, (e) wide exposure to outside world, still the crucial driver remains promising career along with gateway to foreign settlement.
In the absence of sufficient government jobs, middle-class Indian parents prefer their wards’ settlement abroad via study channels. In such a case, if someone expects a sudden reduction in several Indian students going abroad, it will be just daydreaming. To reduce the rapid rise in student inflow, foreign governments specifically those of Canada and Australia recently enhanced the restrictions for foreign students. Despite this, Indian students still spent US$11.7 billion on higher education in Canada alone in the last academic year, indicating the aim of young Indians for foreign settlement in the disguise of foreign study.
Practically, nothing can be done in such cases where people are adamant about leaving the nation via study route or ‘dunki’ route, but welcoming foreign campuses ignites hope for bright Indian students who are emotionally attached to their family, society, culture and nation, but want to pursue higher studies from world-famous institutes locally.
Challenges for FHEIs
Nevertheless, it will not be a cakewalk for FHEIs to set up offshore campuses in India. They might encounter challenges like navigating bureaucratic hurdles, accreditation requirements, socio-cultural adjustments, setting affordable tuition fees, political uncertainties, legal aspects including land acquisition etc. After the UGC notification for FHEIs, so far, few foreign institutes have shown interest in setting up their offshore campuses in India. Deakin University has become the first foreign university to set up a teaching campus at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar. Other prominent names who have shown interest in setting up campuses within India include the University of Wollongong (UOW), Western Sydney University, University of Melbourne, etc.
Besides the students who choose study abroad as a path to immigration, the rest can take advantage of offshore campuses of FHEIs within India to sharpen their skills and raise their employability status. To make this mission successful in less time, a strong political will like the efforts for the ‘Make in India’ programme to make India the most sought-after destination for higher education in the coming years is required. drgrandhawa@gmail.com
The writer is professor at University Business School, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Views expressed are personal.