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November 30th, 2006, 08:20 PM
No entry for fly-by-night foreign varsities
NEW DELHI: Dubious colleges beware: While India is all set to give the green signal to FDI in higher education, only reputed foreign universities which meet pre-determined standards will be allowed to set up campuses.
The government is set to formulate an accreditation policy for universities that want to operate in India and the human resource development ministry will set up a committee of experts to prescribe the minimum eligibility criteria for foreign applicants.
Once foreign universities pass this committee’s scrutiny and gain accreditation, they will be free to take independent decisions on the courses, syllabi, fee structures and salaries.
Speaking to ET, senior officials said that one criterion to determine eligibility would be the number of years a particular university has been operating. Only universities that are at least three to four decades old would be allowed entry. “We do not want fly-by-night operators to come to India to make a fast buck,” an official said.
Another criterion would be the courses and syllabus offered by the universities. They would have to offer a minimum number of courses (to be determined by the committee) and their syllabi would have to adhere to a certain laid-down standard.
According to commerce secretary G K Pillai, allowing FDI will usher in a new era for higher education in India. “Students will get the option of mixing streams. A BSc student who realises two years down the line that he wants to pursue architecture would have the flexibility to do so,” he said. Freedom to give high salaries will also ensure that universities manage to hold on to talented staff, he added.
Source: Economic Times
NEW DELHI: Dubious colleges beware: While India is all set to give the green signal to FDI in higher education, only reputed foreign universities which meet pre-determined standards will be allowed to set up campuses.
The government is set to formulate an accreditation policy for universities that want to operate in India and the human resource development ministry will set up a committee of experts to prescribe the minimum eligibility criteria for foreign applicants.
Once foreign universities pass this committee’s scrutiny and gain accreditation, they will be free to take independent decisions on the courses, syllabi, fee structures and salaries.
Speaking to ET, senior officials said that one criterion to determine eligibility would be the number of years a particular university has been operating. Only universities that are at least three to four decades old would be allowed entry. “We do not want fly-by-night operators to come to India to make a fast buck,” an official said.
Another criterion would be the courses and syllabus offered by the universities. They would have to offer a minimum number of courses (to be determined by the committee) and their syllabi would have to adhere to a certain laid-down standard.
According to commerce secretary G K Pillai, allowing FDI will usher in a new era for higher education in India. “Students will get the option of mixing streams. A BSc student who realises two years down the line that he wants to pursue architecture would have the flexibility to do so,” he said. Freedom to give high salaries will also ensure that universities manage to hold on to talented staff, he added.
Source: Economic Times