Foreign Education Institutions Bill: Boon or Bane The tabling of the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill 2010 in the Lok Sabha has been a big occasion for the HRD ministry. The bill as perceived by the government will not only provide greater access to quality education closer home for Indian students, but will also help in paving the way for greater autonomy to premier educational institutes in the country. This bill, when passed, will have the potential to create the same impact on Indias higher education sector as the economic liberalization & deregulation in the nineties had on Indias industrial sector. But at the same time the government has also been criticized for providing a disguised picture of the situation and going ahead without looking into the detailed study of pros and cons and its long term implications on the Indian education system. The move will provide the much-needed shot in the arm for the growth of education sector in the country. If top-rung global B-schools like Harvard, Stanford, Kellogg and Columbia set up campuses in India, they will go a long way in taking quality education to a larger number of students. In India, the top 15 premier institutes can accommodate only 5,000 of the lakhs of students (more than 2.15 lakh this year) who take the Common Admission Test (CAT) annually. With foreign universities coming in, the large outflow of students travelling to the US and Europe in search of quality education will be curtailed. Students can access quality education at the fraction of the cost. Students will be benefited as they can save on their travel, lodging, boarding, and other expenses. Greater autonomy to Indian premier institutes will be one of the logical fallout of the entry of foreign institutes into the country. The government will be bound to adopt a broader approach. Foreign faculty too will have a role to play, the way foreign executives changed the Indian corporate sector. The institutes that set up base in India will end up recruiting faculty from within the country as they will find it difficult to sustain large degree programmes with the help of visiting faculties. However, in the long run, these foreign universities with their lucrative salary levels will help in making teaching an attractive profession. India has a comparative cost advantage in research in basic sciences. Our faculties are highly qualified and also respected internationally. Unfortunately, they are unable to pursue higher standards due to lack of opportunities here. Only a handful of Indian universities are able to provide quality infrastructure of international standards in teaching and research. In the long run, if well-known universities set up campuses in India to take advantage of India’s low-cost status in education, particularly in research, it will mutually benefit India and foreign countries. Given this backdrop, the entry of quality foreign universities will indeed enhance educational opportunities in India. Some countries like China, South Korea, Singapore and those in the Middle-East have already permitted foreign universities to set up campuses. But in India what happens often is that a great idea is developed but it finally turns out in a malady largely due to a faulty implementation. Critics have highlighted the incompleteness of the bill. While a number of guidelines have been framed for the foreign universities setting up campuses in India, not much has been said about the safeguards provided for the Indian varsities. It is only natural that foreign universities and institutes will appear better to one and all. These universities will not only be the first preference for students who will be getting better educational facilities and infrastructure, but also for faculty members and investors. The bill clearly states that foreign universities will be expected to hire a major chunk of faculty from India. While this will create more jobs at one end, the flip side shows that it will also attract experienced faculty from Indian varsities and colleges with better pay scales and perks. Investors too would be drawn to the foreign universities due to the brand value they hold, especially in India. While the institutes will not be allowed to remit profits earned on Indian soil, they still have the option to earn profits from consultancy which they can take back. Also, the government till now has not taken up the issue of SC, ST and OBC reservations in these varsities. The technicalities of the situation indicate that the foreign universities shall eventually not be bound by the quota laws. The HRD ministry says that the ministry is much in favour of giving the varsities 100 percent campus ownership. If the varsities are given complete campus ownership, it would make them autonomous bodies. While the government is all for giving them deemed university status, these institutes will be private deemed varsities due to being autonomous. Thus, the foreign universities will be free from the obligations of mandatory quota law defeating the very idea of educating the masses leading to the bill look more like a pro-elitist arrangement. The government has specified that these varsities need to have Indian students as well as foreign students in their campuses. But there is no ceiling on the number of foreign students allowed. As a result there is a threat of the foreign universities becoming a cheaper education option for foreign students who can not afford the same in the parent country. One can conclude from above that the idea can turn out to be a great success provided the government and the ministry rethink and put their priorities, provisions and ideas straight before pursuing the bill. Greater level of discussions and detailed study will enhance the effectiveness of the bill which will finally end up in catering the needs of education starving youth of India.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 08:15:26 +0000