Students eyeing global degrees without sacrificing the comfort of home stay and home cooked food after their Class XII board exams are elated with the University Grants Commission (UGC) specifying the rules for foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
What the rules say
“Foreign institutions intending to establish campuses in India should have secured a position within the top 500 in the overall category of global rankings, as decided by the commission from time to time, or should have secured a position within the top 500 in the subject-wise category of global rankings and should possess outstanding expertise in a particular area…,” the UGC notified recently.
Explaining the significance, UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar told the media, ”The regulations aim to facilitate the entry of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions (FHEIs) into India…and to provide an international dimension to higher education in India. These regulations aim to ensure that the education imparted in the (India) campus is at par with that of the main campus in the country of origin and that its operations comply with the applicable laws and regulations.”
The reactions
Both parents and students in Delhi-NCR have hailed the UGC move, with many calling it a pocket-friendly one given the rise in cost of living in the overseas in a post-Covid world.
“This is like having the best of two worlds. We can have a foreign degree in our country without having to sacrifice on several things — mom’s food, homestay and friends. My cousin studies in the US and comes to India only once a year. I have an obsession for foreign degrees but often get upset with the fact that I may not be able to able to see my parents whenever I wish,” says Sunisha Malhotra, a DPS student of Class IX.
As per the UGC notification, foreign universities will be allowed to offer study programmes leading to the award of certificates, diplomas, degrees, research and other programmes at the undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels.
“This is just great. I can complete my entire higher education at a foreign university right in my country and hopefully at an affordable cost. This will also reduce the financial burden on my parents to a large extent as we could save on living expenses and can use the same money on further higher education if needed,” says Pritha Sen, a Class X student of Scottish International School in Delhi-NCR.
Raj Sethi, a dentist in Gurgaon, is equally happy. “I have been planning to send my son to the US next year after he completes his Class XII board exams. He is a good student but my worry was how to mobilise funds for a US education. I even thought of selling off our second apartment in Gurgaon for his higher studies. But the UGC move has come as a blessing for both me and my son,” he says.
“Higher foreign education in India and that too in a pocket-friendly way is like a dream come true for me and my parents. Now my aim is to study hard to get good score in the board exams next year,” says Raj’s son Rahul Sethi, a DPS student.
