NITI Aayog report favours entry of foreign universities in India

Foreign universities may soon set up campuses in India if the PMO and HRD Ministry approve a report by the NITI Aayog that is in favour of the proposal.

The proposal was originally made by the previous UPA government and had been opposed by the BJP.

According to the report, foreign education providers could come in via three routes: a new law to regulate their operation in India; deemed universities under an amendment of the UGC Act; and, tweaking UGC and AICTE regulations to permit joint ventures, says The Indian Express.

The report says that foreign universities will help increase the base of higher education in India, increase competition and improve standards of higher education.

"India stands to gain from setting up of foreign universities in terms of availability of resources both human and financial, state-of-the-art teaching methodology, research and innovation...," says the report. "Capital expenditure in the cost of setting up an institution is high and land and buildings are also a major issue. Entry of foreign universities and leveraging FDI will offset some of these costs."

The issue of foreign universities in India is on the discussion agenda of the new education policy that will be revealed this year.

To counter objections that foreign universities in India might be too expensive for most of the population, the report said "financial assistance in the form of loans and scholarships should be made available to deserving students irrespective of their ability to pay based on merit-cum-means".