Inviting foreign universities to India

The NEP 2020 has set up a red carpet welcome for foreign universities in the country. Acting onthe long-standing demands of the industry, this policy envisages ‘select foreign universities to beencouraged to set up campuses and permitted to operate in India’. Accordingly, we are told thatthe ‘legislative framework shall be formulated and introduced facilitating the entry of foreignuniversities in India, and such universities will be given special dispensation regardingregulatory, governance and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions’ in thecountry.The above intent in the NEP means that the foreign universities filtered via certain parameterswill be able to set up operations through their campuses in the country. The policy frameworkfurther hints that credits acquired at foreign universities may be counted towards a degree withinIndia, and that student and research exchanges will also be facilitated between Indian and globalinstitutions.India for long has been mulling about allowing foreign universities within its territorialjurisdictions. In the UPA-era top-class global universities such as Carnegie Mellon, DukeUniversity and Georgia Tech, all from the US, showed interest in setting up campuses in Indiaapart from those in the UK, Canada and Australia. Accordingly, the erstwhile UPA-2government had introduced a detailed bill in Parliament a decade ago called the ForeignEducational Institutions (Regulations of Entry and Operations) Bill of 2010. It may be noted that the present ruling party and then in opposition opposed this bill tooth andnail claiming it would increase the cost of education. The bill was eventually left to be lapsedwith the 15th Lok Sabha being dissolved.Though the then government showed enthusiasm to bring in regulation, it ensured no smoothride for foreign universities. The regulatory requirements posed considerable problems as itexcessively focused on physical infrastructure in terms of acreage of land, square-footage ofbuilt-up space, size of the canteen, library, books, journals and computers per student rather thanallowing leveraging on technology and intellectual capital. Eventually, with no regulation getting approved brought a further hurdle and the foreignuniversities which enthusiastically entered were left with a limited choice to operate withrestrictions. Some of the foreign universities like the SDA Bocconi Asia Center, an offshoot campus of theItalian Business School, have been operating in the country from its Mumbai campus for the lastmany years but have not been able to deliver degrees or diplomas. The Bocconi’s India campusasks its students to take a final semester at the university’s main campus in Milan to acquire adiploma. European Fashion and Design School, Istituto Marangoni, set up campus in India in 2017 inMumbai with full-time staff from the European schools and specialists who come to deliver fromMilan, Florence, Shanghai, Miami, Paris and London. During the three-year programmeduration, the students have the option to spend their second or third year at the Europeancampuses having completed their first year in India. Similarly, Canada’s Schulich School ofBusiness and a constituent of York University operates from Hyderabad in partnership with theGMR School of Business. Schulich offers a two-year MBA programme with a twinningarrangement permitted under the norms. The NEP on foreign universities marks a reversal of that stance by the now ruling party, whichonce opposed the move when they were in opposition. However, to date there are no indicationsabout the deadline for necessary parliamentary nod for setting up of foreign campuses in India.Irrespective of the politics of allowing foreign universities, such an initiative will do more goodfor India. This will help India retain good faculty talent in India and further may stop the braindrain of bright and exceptional students from the country saving our invaluable foreign exchangeestimated to be Rs 40,000 crore each year. With enhanced collaboration between Indian andforeign universities, our standards of teaching, learning and the research process will improve.Another debated issue about foreign universities in India is on the limits on profit-making, andwhether that would deter them from entering here. There is no doubt that the higher educationsector requires huge expansion, and therefore, huge investment. The private sector thus has tocontribute and is not expected to run for charity. The basic motive foreign universities are keen to set up foreign campuses is to increase theirreach to students in other countries and generate additional fee revenue, and this fact can neverbe overlooked. The condition in NEP only to welcome the ‘top’ universities is also problematic.If other countries resort to the same criteria, no Indian university will be ever able to expand theirbase beyond our territories, it is feared. The NEP focuses on promoting India as a global study destination providing premium educationat affordable costs. This entails good universities come to India and research collaboration andstudents exchange programmes between the Indian and global institutions will be promoted. TheNEP has pronounced good intentions but only time will tell if a good legislation addresses theinterest of students and the concerns of foreign universities.