Lok Sabha Question No. 166 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-25
Subject: Quality Education in HEIs
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Ajay Kumar Mandal

166 Shri Ajay Kumar Mandal:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  and  status  of  higher  educational  institutions  in  Bihar  in  proportion  to population of the State;

(b)  whether  the  Government  grants  permission  and  provides  assistance  to  students  for pursuing higher education abroad;

(c)  if  so,  the  number  of  children  provided  financial  assistance  along  with  the  amount  of assistance, course-wise, country-wise and institution-wise;

(d)  whether  it  is  true  that  every  year  lakhs  of  children  migrated  to  foreign  countries  for pursuing higher education;

(e) if so, the details of the initiatives taken by the Government to prevent such migration and provide quality education to such children within the country;

(f) whether the Government proposed to set up Vikramshila University in Bhagalpur district of Bihar under the PM package to attract Indian and foreign students and if so, the details thereof; and

(g) the time by which the said project is likely to be completed and the academic year from which education is likely to be imparted in the proposed university?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (Dr. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a): As per All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-22, Bihar has 1,444 Higher Education  Institutions  (HEIs)  as  registered  in  AISHE  2021-22  comprising  37  universities, 1,092  colleges  and  315  standalone  institutions.  The  total  projected  population  (based  on Census 2011) of Bihar in the age group of 18-23 years is 15,374,000.

(b)  &  (c):  The  Ministry  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment  (MSJE),  Ministry  of  Tribal Affairs (MTA) and Ministry of Science and Technology provide assistance to Indian students for  higher  education  abroad.  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. As per information received from the MSJE and the MTA, in the year 2023-24, 125  students  were  selected  for  the  National  Overseas  Scholarship  for  Scheduled  Caste students and an expenditure of Rs. 88.56 crore was incurred as scholarship; and the National Overseas Scholarship for Scheduled Tribe Students was provided to 65 students and Rs. 7 crore was given as scholarship.

(d) The Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Ministry of Home Affairs captures the data of Indians going  abroad  for  higher  education  on  the  basis  of  their  verbal  disclosure  at  the  time  of immigration  clearance,  or  the  type  of  visa  obtained  for  the  destination  country.  As  per information  received  from  the  BoI,  in  the  year  2023,  the  number  of  Indian  nationals  who

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.166

ANSWERED ON 25/11/2024

## Quality Education in HEIs

have  mentioned  their  purpose  of  visit  as  'STUDENT'  during  departure  was  nearly  8.95 lakhs.

(e): The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 advocates Indian HEIs to attain the goal of global quality standards. It further states that top universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India. In this regard, the following initiatives have been undertaken:

·  University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  has  issued  enabling  Regulations  to  facilitate establishment  of  campuses  of  Foreign  Higher  Institutions  (FHEIs)  in India.  The regulations are available at https://fhei.ugc.ac.in/Downloads/Regulations.pdf.

· The UGC has also issued Regulations to enable Indian Institutions to collaborate with FHEIs to offer Twinning, Joint Degree and Dual Degree Programmes.  The regulation may be accessed at https://www.ugc.gov.in/pdfnews/4555806\_UGC-Acad-CollabRegulations.pdf.

· World-Class Foreign Universities and Institutions have been allowed to establish their campus  in  Gujarat  International  Finance  Tec-City  (GIFT  City)  and  offer  courses  in Financial  Management,  FinTech,  Science,  Technology,  Engineering  and  Mathematics. Foreign Universities and Institutions can set up their Branch Campuses in GIFT City as per the criteria and standards laid down in the International Financial Services Centers Authority  (Setting  up  and  Operation  of  International  Branch  Campuses  and  Offshore Education Centers) Regulations, 2022. (weblink: https://ifsca.gov.in/Document/Legal/ifsca-ibc-and-oec-regulations202213102022113639.pdf ).

·  Two  universities,  namely,  Deakin  University  and  University  of  Wollongong  from Australia  have  established  their  campus  in  GIFT  City.  The  first  batch  of  Deakin University commenced on 3rd July, 2024. The admissions for University of Wollongong's first batch are still open.

·  A  Letter  of  Intent  (LoI)  was  issued  to  the  University  of  Southampton  (UoS),  UK, allowing them to establish their first-ever campus in India. UoS is ranked among the top 100 Higher Educational Institutions globally.

(f)  &  (g):  The  PM  Package  for  Bihar,  2015  inter-alia  provides  for  establishment  of  a  new Central University near Bhagalpur at the historic site of Vikramshila University.

The  State  Government  has  to  provide  suitable  land  free  of  cost and  free from  all encumbrances for the proposed University. This Ministry requested the State Govt of Bihar in the year 2015 to provide suitable site of 500 Acre. However, considering the request of the State Govt, it was decided that the State Govt may provide 200 Acres of land to begin with and identify another 300 Acres for future expansion. Thereafter, the sites offered by the State Govt of Bihar were visited in February 2022 by the Site Selection Committee (SSC) of this Ministry. However, the sites were not found suitable as the sites were flood prone, away from the ancient site and not easily accessible. In the year 2024, the Government of Bihar offered another site  at  Malakpur  and  Antichak  in  Kahalgaon  measuring about  205.05 Acre for the proposed  University  which  has  been  accepted  by  this  Ministry.  Based  on  the  details,  the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi has been entrusted the work to prepare the Detailed Project Report for the University.