Since Indian universities and institutes provide quality education at a lower cost. Going overseas on their own or in partnership, will help in expanding the horizons and bandwidth of the universities.
In one such incidence, the UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said that the African and Gulf countries, Thailand, and Vietnam are among the probable locations for Indian universities to establish their offshore campuses.
Indian Universities to Establish Offshore Campuses Due to Their High Demand
He added that the regulations for these campuses are ready and would be released in a month.
He stated that the number of nations are stepping forward to offer infrastructure to Indian colleges looking to establish campuses abroad, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) would assist the institutions in choosing the nations where they can do so.
He said that “We have in India a huge university ecosystem. There are outstanding universities, both in central government and state government-funded, and private universities. We want to encourage these varsities to set up their campuses abroad. A few countries are coming forward to provide the infrastructure to our universities to set up their campus” he said.
He added that there are many countries wherein the Indian diaspora needs Indian campuses to come and fill the gap of quality, low cost operations. There are several African countries too that have shown interest in hosting Indian universities.
He added that “There is huge potential for setting up campuses in African countries. Thailand, Vietnam and a few Gulf countries… there is immense interest and the opportunities are immense too. It is just that we have not had any enabling regulations so far”.
IITs Requested by Many Countries to Establish Campuses
The UGC chairman said that the Middle-East and South Asian nations have been requesting a number of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to establish their campuses in their countries.
He told that currently IIT Madras is looking into opportunities in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Tanzania, while IIT Delhi is considering opening a campus in the United Arab Emirates.
The IIT campuses are also planning for Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, and the UK.
He said that “IITs are known as institutions of national importance, they function under IIT Council. It has its own rules and regulations under which they can set up their own campuses. Already some IITs are working on that”.
For the first time, the foreign institutions would be able to establish campuses in India as per UGC. The draught regulations were revealed that would allow these universities to control their admissions policies, fee schedules, and money repatriation.
As per the UGC Chairman, the final rules, which will take into account the views from stakeholders, would also be released in a month.
He said that “This regulation of UGC to bring the campuses of foreign educational institutions in India is widely discussed in our country because of the possible advantages that can bring to our students. The regulations are being fine-tuned now. We also had discussions with various foreign universities delegations which have visited UGC, we have put draft for feedback and have received very good feedback. In another month or so, we will be able to release the final regulations”.
