Why Modi govt is planning to allow Yale, Oxford, Stanford to set up India campuses

• Shubham
• 06 January, 2023

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By: Shubham Ghosh

The Narendra Modi government of India has taken a step towards allowing leading international universities such as Yale, Oxford, and Stanford to establish campuses in the country and award degrees as part of a strategy to overhaul its higher education system, Bloomberg reported.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), which regulates higher education in India, on Thursday (5) came up with a draft legislation for public feedback that aims at facilitating entry and operation of overseas institutions in the South Asian nation for the first time.

According to the draft, the local campuses of the foreign institutions can decide on the admission criteria for both domestic and foreign students, fee structure and scholarship. The institutions will also have the autonomy to recruit faculty and staff members, the report added.

The Bloomberg report added that the Modi government is aiming to overhaul India’s heavily regulated education sector to enable the Indian students to get foreign qualifications at an affordable cost and make the country a global study destination. The move would also help the foreign institutions to tap India’s young population.

The report said while India’s educational institutions have produced chief executive officers at big companies worldwide, many of them are poorly ranked in global terms. The country has to boost its education sector to become more competitive and reduce the growing divide between college curricula and market demand.

It’s currently ranked 101 among 133 nations in the Global Talent Competitiveness Index of 2022 that measures a country’s ability to grow, attract, and retain talent.

Some universities already have made partnerships with Indian institutions, allowing students to partially study in India and complete their degrees on the main campus overseas. This will encourage these foreign institutions to establish campuses without local partners.

The UGC’s final draft will be presented to the Indian parliament for its approval before becoming law.