Foreign Universities to Set up Campuses in India – Will it change the landscape of Higher Educational System?

Most analysts had ruled out further push to the Reform process for the Education industry at least during the FY 2010-11 with nothing to hear in the Finance minister’s Union Budget 2010 speech except an incremental allocation of additional 15% for the sector from the previous year’s Rs. 26, 800 crore to Rs.31, 036 crore for FY 2010-11.

But, that’s not exactly the case to be. Like in the case Budget 2009, the Finance minister has chosen to remain mute in the Budget 2010 announcements as well, but gradually moved forward with the reforms process slowly but steadily during the year.

Did you aspire to fetch those premium degrees from renowned foreign universities like Harvard, Stanford or Yale? Worry not. You don’t have to fly abroad; the biggies are coming at your door step, precisely speaking – at your own home-land in India.

The UPA Cabinet has cleared the Foreign Education (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill which would further require Parliamentary nod to be turned into a law which would facilitate the globally renowned foreign institutes to set up campuses in India to cater to the higher education system.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has described this higher education reform as,

“A milestone which will enhance choices, increase competition and benchmark quality. A larger revolution than even in the telecom sector awaits us.”

Until now, the options for the students of India’s top B-school destinations remained limited to IIT and IIMs. However, if the bill relating to the entry of foreign universities into India is ratified by the Parliament, the options for these students could receive an immense boost what with some of the best foreign universities in the fray to set up campuses in India to tap the bright prospects in catering to the higher educational system with in the country.

The need for the students, who are aspiring to seek degrees under the name of premium foreign institutes, to travel abroad can now be satisfied at home-land itself with lower costs as compared to flying to the foreign destination.

According to the proposal in the bill, the foreign institutes would be treated as private universities which would enjoy quota-free status with respect to admission processes in India. This would mean the foreign universities would not be obliged to reserve admission seats for lower-category class of people.

But, in return, these universities would have to follow national laws governing the education industry including registration under the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The introduction of foreign universities with in the country would go a long way in improving the over-all standard of higher education. The top Indian institutes will have to inculcate strict adherence to rules and ways of improving prevalent standards in order to conform to the internationally competitive standards of operations.

The intense competition from foreign universities based on their high standards would lead to better transparency, educational content, better admission procedures, improved infrastructure, and most of all controlling of corruption in an unorganized education sector of India.

With the likely introduction of foreign institution campuses into India, the market for better and improved higher education will receive a boost and at the same time will also pronounce into added number of options for top B-school candidates of India. It will also ensure competitiveness amongst the top-notch institutions leading to betterment of over-all standards.

Do you feel that foreign campuses can lead to improvement in India’s higher educational system?