Foreign Varsity Campus A Distant Dream?

NEP’s aim to bring top 100 global universities to India is too ambitious

- MANU KAUSHIK

In THE MIDDLE OF the pandemic, the Central government came out with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Even though the policy was in the works for quite some time — five years to be precise — its release in late July received mixed response. On the one hand, it talks about adding 35 million seats and achieving the gross enrolment ratio of 50 per cent by 2035 in the higher education category. On the other, it paves the way for global institutions to set up operations in the country.

“High-performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries, and similarly, selected universities e.g., those from among the top 100 universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India. A legislative framework aiding their 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,” according to the policy document.