Why not नालंदा?

     The draft regulations announced by UGC (University Grant Commission) allowed Foreign Universities to set up their campuses in India. the UGC said universities that are placed in the top 500 — either in the overall or the subject-wise category — in global rankings such as QS, can apply to enter India. Also, universities that do not participate in such rankings must be “reputed” in their countries to be able to apply. The educational reforms brought in by the central government in the form of NEP (National Education Policy) have received a commendable response from all the stakeholders and everyone is enthused to work in line with the NEP framework so does the UGC. But does Indian Higher Education needs Foreign University campuses is a question that needs a detailed lookout?

        Higher education in India is not very progressive in its academic and research approach. The courses offered by the universities do not cater for the functional requirements of the employing companies. The regressive learning model of universities forces students to limit their aspirations and they mostly end up running behind government sector jobs. This further spikes the unemployment percentage. As per the QS world rankings, only 9 academic institutions in India are above the rank of 500. 8 out of 9 on the list are IITs. The average GER (Gross Enrollment Ratio) in higher academic institutions is only 26.3% and the dropout percentage further creates a void between the total enrolled and completed education. If higher academic institutions show the desire of scaling new heights, the lack of autonomy and the highly regulated system makes it nearly impossible. The politicisation of the academic temples is an added curse which halts the teaching-learning process and pollutes the overall environment. Lack of funding, poor infrastructure, incompetent teachers, teacher-student ratio and social distractions further add to the problematic scenario of the universities and higher education in India.

    So, if these many challenges need a quick redressal, why are we looking to add something new to the list? The idea of establishing the campuses of foreign universities sounds good to the ears. But it is not. The foreign campuses will need huge lands, constant financial support from the host governments for integrating teaching and research, and financial and lifestyle incentives for the teaching faculties. In return, they will charge hefty fees to the students. It is estimated that the students would be demanded approximately 70 lakhs per annum to study at Harvard, Yale and Stanford and over 55 lakhs per annum to study at Oxford or Cambridge which is 15 times more expensive than Indian private universities and 100 times costlier than public universities.

    Hence, the focus must be on reviving the already established Indian institutions. The efforts must be towards reviving the old prestige of the Indian education system where Indian universities like Nalanda and Takshashila were catering for the learning needs of foreign students. Instead of "brain drain" the approach must be of "brain gain." The institutions must constantly look to scale the ranking list published by NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework). The top universities in NIRF rankings must further their efforts to see their names on the world ranking list. There should be a race among universities to design and provide courses which will cater for the functional requirements of employing companies. The focus must be on generating qualitative research and technologies. Instead of draining the wealth abroad, we must financially support the potential institutions. The creation of Institutions of Eminence (IoE) will be an added boost to the overall setup. The government must provide more autonomy and must ease the regulatory framework to see the universities excelling in their respective domains. Foreign university collaborations, joint degrees and student exchange programmes can bring a desirable change and help to solve the complexity associated with higher education in India.

Strengthening the already available is the key. We must look at our own bakyard...!