Lok Sabha Question No. 5239 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-04-03
Subject: Students Opting Foreign Universities for Higher Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Anumula Revanth Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5239

ANSWERED ON 03/04/2023

## Students Opting Foreign Universities for Higher Education

5239. SHRI ANUMULA REVANTH REDDY:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note that the number of students opting for foreign Universities for higher studies is increasing and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of students who have joined foreign universities since 2018, year/State-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has noticed that the students who aspire to but cannot afford to go to foreign universities are unable to get quality higher education;
- (d) if so, the details of the number of students who have applied for Government scholarships facilitating  admission  in foreign  Universities  but  were  rejected  during  the  past five  years, year/State-wise;
- (e) whether the Government is taking any steps to strengthen Indian Education System to facilitate better higher education within the country; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

- (a) to (b): Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs maintains departure and arrival data of Indians. But there is no index of Indian students going abroad for higher education purpose. Purpose of Indians for going abroad is captured manually based either on their verbal disclosure or the type of visa of the destination country produced by them at the time of according immigration clearance and State wise data is not maintained. The number of Indians, who disclosed their purpose of visit as Study/Education while going abroad from 2018 to 2022, is given below:

| Year            |   2018 |   2019 |   2020 |   2021 |   2022 |
|-----------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| No. of Students | 518015 | 586337 | 259655 | 444553 | 750365 |

(c) to (f): There are 1,113 Universities, 43,796 Colleges and 11,296 Stand Alone Institutions in the country as per AII India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21.To improve the quality of  Higher  Education  in  India  and  bring  it  at  par  with  global  standard  many  reforms  and initiatives have been taken under National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.  These initiatives include establishment of the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC); Guidelines for Multiple Entry and Exit in Academic Programmes offered in Higher Education Institutions(HEIs); Guidelines for Transforming HEIs into Multidisciplinary Institutions; Common Universities Entrance Test; Guidelines on Internship/ Apprenticeship embedded Degree Programme; Online and Open and Distance Learning Education; 1st Year Engineering Programmes  in  Regional Languages; Pursuing two Academic  Programmes  simultaneously; Establishment of Research  and  Development  Cells  in  HEIs;  Professor  of  Practice;  Curriculum  and  Credit Framework  for  Undergraduate  Programme;  Guidelines  for  Internationalization  of  Higher Education.

In addition to above, to promote internationalisation of Indian education, National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 stipulates various measures, which inter alia include facilitating research /  teaching  collaborations  and  faculty  /student  exchange  with  high-quality  foreign  Higher Education  Institutions  (HEIs);  signing  of  relevant  mutually  beneficial  Memorandum  of Understanding (MoUs) with foreign countries;   encouraging high performing Indian universities to set up campuses in other countries; facilitating selected universities e.g. those from among the top 100 universities in the world to operate in India; setting up of International Student  Office  at  each  Higher  Education  Institution  (HEI)  for  welcoming  and  supporting students arriving from abroad; and promoting courses and  programmes in subjects, such as Indology, Indian Languages, AYUSH systems of medicines, yoga, arts etc.In line with the recommendations  of  NEP,  2020,  several  measures  have  been  initiated  to  strengthen Internationalization of the Higher Education, such as:

- i. The  University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  has  issued  Regulations  on  Academic Collaboration  between  Indian  and  Foreign  Higher  Educational  Institutions  to  offer Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes on 02.05.2022.
- ii. University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued Guidelines for Internationalisation of Higher Education on 29.07.2022. The guidelines call for establishment of the Office for International Affairs in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as a single point of contact for facilitating foreign students and promoting internationalisation.
- iii. World-Class Foreign Universities and Institutions have been allowed in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to offer courses in Financial Management, FinTech,  Science,  Technology,  Engineering  and  Mathematics  free  from  domestic regulations,  except  those  by  International  Financial  Services  Centres  Authority (IFSCA) to facilitate availability of high-end human resources for financial services and technology.
- iv. University Grants Commission (UGC) has drafted enabling Regulations to facilitate the  establishment  of  campuses  of  foreign  higher  institutions  in  India.  The  draft University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023  are available at https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/9214094\_Draft-Setting-up-and-Operation-ofCampuses-of-Foreign-Higher-Educational-Institutions-in-India-Regulations-2023.pdf

These initiatives will provide global exposure to students for multidisciplinary education with an internationally relevant curriculum and quality education.

The Ministry of Education provides financial aid to only those Indian students who pursue higher  studies  in  India.  Moreover,  based  on  requests  received  from  friendly  foreign countries/institutions,  the  Ministry  of  Education  disseminates  information  on  scholarships offered by such donor countries for Indian students of all the States and Union Territories to study abroad, through its website https://www.education.gov.in/scholarships.The details of the  schemes  and  programmes  being  implemented  by  different  Ministries  under  which financial assistance and interest subsidy are provided to meritorious students for pursuing higher education abroad are available in following websites:

|   Sl N. | Ministry                                 | Name of Schemes & Programmes                                                                                                                                              | Website links                                                                                          |
|---------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment | National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Castes, Denotified Nomadic and Semi- Nomadic Tribes, Landless Agricultural Labourers and Traditional Artisans category | https://nosmsje.gov.in/(X(1)S( towfhz0ixhfu5oqrcwv1j032))/ Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetec tCookieSupport=1 |
|       2 | Ministry of Tribal Affairs               | National Overseas Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled tribe Students                                                                                                         | https://overseas.tribal.gov.in/                                                                        |
|       3 | Ministry of Science & Technology         | Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship Programme                                                                                                                           | https://www.serbonline.in/SE RB/ovdf?HomePage=New                                                      |

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