India opens its doors to top foreign universities - The National Educational Policy 2020

 

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 that the Cabinet approved represents a major advance over the predecessor draft NEP 2019. The long-term plan as per the policy is to do away with the current system of colleges affiliated to universities. Each college would become either fully integrated into a university or converted into an autonomous and independent degree giving institution. An independent board would come to govern each higher education institution (HEI), whether college or university.

Under the policy, numerous existing tiny colleges that are pedagogically unviable and financially costly would be merged with larger HEIs. Each HEI would come to have a minimum of 3,000 students. HEIs will have the freedom to choose the mix between research and teaching as per their strengths, with the sector eventually consisting of highly research-intensive institutions at one extreme and highly teaching-intensive institutions on the other. This is broadly the structure prevailing in the US and UK.

Full restructuring along these lines is the long-term goal for which the policy sets a deadline of 2035. But the policy contains many low hanging fruits that can be harvested in five or fewer years. These include the launch of a four-year bachelor’s degree; opening India to foreign universities; incorporating vocational education in the college curriculum, and creation of a National Research Foundation. The government must draw up a time-bound plan to implement these changes over the next five years.

The HECI Act will also need to accommodate foreign institutions in a flexible manner. At present, the policy envisages allowing only the top 100 institutions globally to open campuses in India. Therefore, HECI will need enough flexibility to open the door wider.

Source - Theprint

The policy is even open to calling foreign universities in tie-up with existing Indian universities and provide the student with a dual degree wherein the student can have best of both worlds. It refers to having faculty from top universities to come and teach in India and help the student get practical knowledge with the expertise of the foreign university.

Changes such as permitting undergraduate students to take courses across all disciplines, the launch of a four-year undergraduate degree, and autonomy to leading colleges can be implemented even within the current legal structure in higher education. Now that NEP 2020 has put its stamp on creating autonomous colleges on a large scale, this process may be accelerated. Degree giving powers to these colleges may follow once HECI is in place.

This is a huge step for the educational department and will shape the future of India in multiple ways. It will also open doors of India for many countries to not only study but also work in the competitive market that the country has to offer to gain experience and set up their own venture.

It also gives a chance to global universities to join hands with Indian colleges and start dual degree programs which are going to be the next thing in the educational sector. In such a case, if you are a university/VC/ Trustee that wants to open up their own campus along with government approval, securing land, teaching staff or wants to be affiliated to the Indian institute then, our company,  MAK India Business Solutions Pvt Ltd services would be essential for you to launch your venture in the country.

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