Learning Without Borders

The national education Policy opens doors for foreign universities to set up campus in India—a policy that has long been in limbo—but its success depends greatly on the next steps of implementation

- PANKTI MEHTA KADAKIA & MANSVINI KAUSHIK

Come August and each year, lakhs of teenagers across India get busy sorting out paperwork, brushing up on (microwave) cooking, readying for a series of teary farewells. In 2019 alone, more than 7.5 lakh students boarded flights to universities abroad—a staggering rise over the 66,000-odd of a decade ago.

While Covid-19 has put a pause on students’ plans to go overseas this year, this trend may not be deeply hit in the long term. As more and more students aspire for a foreign education, the new National Education Policy (NEP), announced on July 29, hopes to fulfil some of these dreams even while at home.

As per the NEP, ‘selected universities, for example, those from among the top 100 universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India. A legislative framework facilitating such entry will be put in place, and such universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India’.

This means that foreign universities, filtered via certain parameters, will be able to set up operations and campuses in India. The policy framework adds that credits acquired at foreign universities can be counted towards a degree within India, and that student and research exchanges will also be facilitated between Indian and global institutions.