Cabinet sets up GoM on regulation of foreign universities

New Delhi, July 6 (UNI) The Union Cabinet today decided to set up a Group of Minister (GoM) to finalise guidelines for regulating foreign universities which would be allowed to set up campuses in the country and award degrees, after a proposed legislation is passed.

Members of the GoM will be designated by the Prime Minister soon, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet here.

The proposed legilsation on Foreign Educational Institutions is ready and is expected to be cleared by the Cabinet soon, according to sources in the Human Resource Development Ministry.

Such institutions will be given the status of Deemed Universities under the UGC Act.

Only universities accreditated by the competent authorities in their home country would be allowed to set up campus in India.

Universities wanting to start operations in India will have to set up operations on their own and there will be no franchisee system, they said.

The legislation has been necessitated as there is a growing demand for foreign degrees, largely due to the internat higher education has opened up the market for private providers of education who link up with foreign universities to provide foreign degrees that attract the students as the foreign tag increases their market value.

Foreign universities fail to collaborate with the Indian education system, as they do not find any enabling laws for their authorised operation. The proposed legislation aims at removing uncertainties, confusions about the status of these universities and regulate their operations.

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