Easing Foreign Collaboration Norms Will Benefit Indian Students

Easing Foreign Collaboration Norms Will Benefit Indian Students; Improve Knowledge Delivery: Education Promotion Society for India

• EPSI says MHRD’s move to ease regulations regarding foreign collaborations for Indian Universities is a bold and positive step
• EPSI is a national body of educationists, academics, and intellectuals which plays a catalytic role in promoting growth and quality of education in India 

The Education Promotion Society for India today welcomed the latest move by MHRD to ease UGC regulations governing foreign collaborations of Indian educational institutions as a bold and visionary step, which will increase synergy between Indian and foreign academic institutions, offer students additional choices, and improve delivery of knowledge.

Reacting to the announcement, EPSI – the national body comprising academics, intellectuals and educationists – said the decision to amend regulations so as to allow Indian Institutes to approach the UGC for entering into academic tie-ups with education institutions abroad by applying directly, would benefit Indian students who are aspiring to study in Foreign Institutions and provide a formal recognition of the degree.

Moreover, what is even more appreciable is the fact that to give a boost to foreign collaboration, the UGC will speedily process the proposals of foreign collaborations in two months, it said.

According to the announcement made by the MHRD, Indian institutes would now be able to partner with universities abroad to offer undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and can now approach the University Grants Commission (UGC) directly for permission. Previous norms, UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaborations between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutes) Regulations 2012, barred Indian institutions from directly applying for a tie-up with a foreign university. Under those norms, only foreign institutes could seek permission for such academic collaborations and MoUs.

“This is a really a bold step towards the government’s push to broaden the scope and improve the quality of education in the country as well as encourage healthy competition. Now Indian institutions will also not feel insecure from foreign universities as they are going to be together for collaboration and imparting education. It is indeed an appreciable move of the government towards globalisation where at each and every level we talk about being global,” said Dr. G. Viswanathan, Founder & Chancellor, VIT University, Vellore & President, Education Promotion Society for India.

“The new norms are visionary as they recognize the need for promoting collaborations with foreign institutions to improve exposure and quality of knowledge available to Indian students. The MoUs will provide sufficient autonomy to the institutions, as per reports, and students from foreign institutions will also be allowed to come to Indian campuses under these norms. These new regulations thus, are largely expected to set a ground work to realise the present government’s objective to promote Indian education internationally,” said Dr Prashant Bhalla, Treasurer, EPSI and President, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions. 

According to amended norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Indian institutes will now be able to approach the UGC to seek its nod for academic tie-ups by applying online. Not this only, under new norms, it will be ensured that within 30 working days all applications will be responded to and disposed in 60 working days.

This is also a very positive gesture for the Indian students who are aspiring to study with Foreign Educational Institutions and acquire a formal recognition of their programmes. This will offer unprecedented academic mobility through acquiring of credits and study at reputed institution abroad. It is, of course, a very welcoming move in the Education sector.