Lok Sabha Question No. 11 (STARRED), answered on 2016-07-18
Subject: Tie-ups with Foreign Educational Institutions
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: HARI BABU KAMBHAMPATI

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 11 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2016

## Tie-ups with Foreign Educational Institutions

*11. DR. KAMBHAMPATI HARIBABU:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  suggestions  have  been  received  from  various  quarters  to  allow  Indian Educational Institutions to tie-up with foreign institutions and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether any roadmap in this regard has been prepared and if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the time by which the new scheme is likely to be implemented and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a)  to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
- *********

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  11  FOR  18.07.2016  ASKED  BY  DR.  KAMBHAMPATI HARIBABU,  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF  PARLIAMENT  REGARDING  TIE-UPS  WITH FOREIGN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. (a) to  (c):  The  University  Grants  Commission(UGC)  has  informed  that  in  order  to address  the  growing  need  of  Indian  Educational  Institutions  (IEIs)  to  collaborate  with Foreign Educational Institutions(FEIs), regulations were notified in 2012 for promotion and  maintenance  of  standards  of  academic  collaboration  between  IEIs  and  FEIs, including for the purposes of  grant of degree, between IEIs and FEIs. The regulations were reviewed by the UGC and a need was felt for revising them. The NITI Aayog also suggested strengthening of these regulations. The 2012 regulations have  been superseded  by the  UGC  (Promotion  and Maintenance  of  Standards  of  Academic  Collaboration  between  Indian  and  Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2016, notified on 11 th July, 2016. The regulations seek  to  increase  synergy  between  Indian  and  foreign  academic  institutions,  offer students  additional  choices,  improve  curriculum  and  the  delivery  of  knowledge  and educational  content.  As  per  the  regulations,  the  degree  will  be  awarded  by  the  IEIs alone; joint degrees are not permitted. However the name of the collaborating FEI can be indicated on the degree, the logo and primacy being of the Indian institution. Credits from collaborating FEI when jointly signed by the IEI shall form part of the transcript. FEI may also sign the transcript/credit issued by the IEI. Indian  Universities  and  Colleges,  having  the  highest  grade  of  accreditation/ threshold accreditation, will apply online to the UGC  for  starting twinning  and collaborative  arrangement with quality FEIs in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to the award of a degree. All communications received from the applicants shall be responded to by the UGC within a period of 60 working days. The regulations are available at http://www.egazette.nic.in/

WriteReadData/2016/170684.pdf .

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REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 11 FOR 18.07.2016  ASKED  BY  DR.  KAMBHAMPATI  HARIBABU,  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING TIE-UPS WITH FOREIGN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

## EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

## 2012 Regulations of the UGC:-

The UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between  Indian  and  Foreign  Educational  Institutions)  Regulations,  2012  was  the  first regulations by the UGC to establish an enabling framework for collaborations between Indian  and  Foreign  Higher  Educational  Institutions  given  the  felt  need  for  regulating such collaborations.

## Revision of the Regulations:-

Till the notification of the revised regulations, no FEI had applied to the UGC for the collaborations.  It was decided that the Indian Higher Educational Institutions should be enabled to apply online to the UGC for entering into collaborations for the purpose of award of degrees.

The Commission had approved these regulations in 514 th meeting held on 16 th June,  2016.    A  Press  Conference  was  also  addressed  by  the  then  Hon'ble  HRM regarding  these  Regulations.    The  Press  Release  is  at  Annexure  A.  Joint  degrees between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutions are not permitted as Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956 stipulates the following:

' The  right  of  conferring  or  granting  degrees  shall  be  exercised  only  by  a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act or an institution deemed to be a University under section 3 or an institution specially empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees'.

A university is defined in the UGC Act, 1956 as the following:

' University' means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act,  a  Provincial  Act  or  a  State  Act,  and  includes  any  such  institution  as  may,  in consultation  with  the  University  concerned,  be  recoginsed  by  the  Commission  in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act '.

## Collaborations other than twining arrangements:-

Other types of academic collaborations (student exchange programmes, faculty exchange programmes, research projects) have been undertaken by several universities in the country.  These collaborations are regulated by the Acts, Statutes and Ordinances  of  the  University  and  the  instructions  of  the  Government  regarding collaborations.    The  extant  instructions  (dated  17 th December,  2015)  stipulate  the following:-

- a )    In cases of MoUs/ Agreement at Institutional level, where there is a provision in  the  Act  (under  which  the  institution  has  been  established)  to  enter  into  an agreement  with  the  foreign  institution,  the  Institutions  can  enter  into  MoUs/ Agreements with the approval of their respective Board of Governors provided there is no additional financial implication for the Government over and above the lump  sum  annual  grant  already  provided  to  the  institution  and  the  MoU/ Agreement conforms with the National Education Policy, Acts of Parliament and any other laws of the land in vogue. The representative(s) of the Department in the  Board  of  Governors  may  safeguard  the  interests  of  Government  at  the approval stage; and
- b)     If  there  is  no  provision  in  the  Act  of  the  Institution  for  signing  MoU/ Agreement with the foreign institutions, MoUs/ Agreements may be signed with the approval of the Ministry in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs.
- c)     In  cases  of  MoUs/  Agreements  between  Government  to  Government, approval of the Cabinet may continue to be taken in terms of extant instructions and after completion of the laid down process.

## Suggestions from NITI Aayog:-

The NITI Aayog analysed all the reports that have been brought out in respect of setting up of foreign universities/ campuses and also reason as to why the same could not move forward for the last 10-15 years. It offered following suggestions:

- o For  setting  up  of  Foreign  Educational  Institution  (FEI)  campuses  in  India, there are three ways of going about it viz. (i) By introducing a Bill on setting up  of  FEI  campuses; (ii) by  making  suitable  amendments  in  the  existing UGC and AICTE Acts; and (iii) by making changes in current guidelines/regulations of UGC and AICTE for setting up FEIs in India.
- o The  Indian  institutions  may  be  provided  a  level  playing  field  by  granting sufficient autonomy to them.
- o The new proposal for preparing the regulatory framework for ten world class private institutions may have a window for FEIs also. Detailed suggestions of NITI Aayog are at Annexure B.

## Action Taken by MHRD

The Department of Higher Education has undertaken the following initiatives:-

1.  The Government accorded its approval to UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards  of  Academic  collaboration  between  India  and  foreign  Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2016 on 28 th June, 2016.  These have been notified.
2.  The Department of Higher Education has prepared a draft UGC (Declaration of Educational Institutions as World Class Institutions) Guidelines 2016 for providing enabling regulatory architecture to 10 public and 10 private institutions to emerge as  World  Class  Teaching  and  Research  Institutions.  In  addition,  a  draft  UGC( World Class Institutions  Deemed  to  be  Universities)  Regulations  2016  has  also been  drafted.  The  regulatory  architecture,  the  eligibility  criteria,  the  process  of selection, monitoring etc for private institutions would be as per these regulations. Both  the drafts are under  discussion  with  PMO.  Since,  upgrading  Public Educational Institutions to World Class institutions will have financial repercussion to the extent of ₹ 5000 Crore over a period of five years, an EFC note has been prepared  and  submitted  for  approval  before  it  is  circulated  for  Inter  Ministerial Consultations.
3.  Global  Initiative  on  Academic  Networks  (GIAN)  has  been  an  initiative  to  bring reputed foreign academics in to Indian higher education. Over 600 approvals from 38 countries have been accorded and there is a steady stream of reputed foreign academics  from  highly  rated  institutions  abroad.  It  is  expected  this  year,  the approvals will cross 1000.
4.  Agreements  were  signed  in  the  context  of  BRICS  Network  University  in  April 2016. This involves 12 institutions / Universities/ IITs /NITs and a similar figure of 12  each  from  4  other  BRICS  countries  over  six  knowledge  domains.  The institutions  have  started  collaborative  activities  and  a  review  will  be  taken  in August 2016.

## AICTE Regulations

The  AICTE  in  2003  had  issued  regulations  for  entry  and  operation  of  foreign universities in India imparting technical education.  These Regulations will be revised in accordance with the principles of the 2016 UGC Regulations.

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11 TH POSITION

REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 11 FOR 18.07.2016  ASKED  BY  DR.  KAMBHAMPATI  HARIBABU,  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING TIE-UPS WITH FOREIGN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

## NOTES FOR SUPPLEMENTARIES

## Q.  1.  What  are  the  Constitutional  provisions  regarding  education? (Given  in

Schedule VII of the Constitution of India)

LIST I UNION LIST-

|   Entry No. | Entry                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|-------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|          63 | The institutions known at the commencement of this Constitution as the Benares Hindu University, the Aligarh Muslim University and the Delhi University; the University established in pursuance of article 371E; any other institution declared by Parliament by law to be an institution of national importance. |
|          64 | Institutions for scientific or technical education financed by the Government of India wholly or in part and declared by Parliament by law to be institutions of national importance.                                                                                                                              |
|          65 | Union agencies and institutions for- ( a ) professional, vocational or technical training, including the training of police officers; or ( b ) the promotion of special studies or research; or ( c ) scientific or technical assistance in the investigation or detection of crime.                               |
|          66 | Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions.                                                                                                                                                                           |

## LIST IISTATE LIST

32. Incorporation,  regulation  and  winding  up  of  corporations,  other  than  those specified  in  List  I  and  Universities,  unincorporated  trading,  literary,  scientific, religious and other societies and associations, co-operative societies.

25. Education,  including  technical  education,  medical  education  and  universities, subject  to  the  provisions  of  entries  63,64,65  and  66  of  List  I,  vocational  and technical training of labour.

## Q.2. What is the role of the UGC?

Answer: The University Grants Commission (UGC) is a statutory body established in 1956 by an Act of Parliament (the UGC Act, 1956 for the purpose of coordination and determination of standards in Universities [ prior to this enactment, an interim UGC had been set up by the Government through a Resolution in 1953 ].

This  act  was  promulgated  pursuant  to  Entry  66  of  List  I  (Union  List)  which empowers the Union Government for ' Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions  for  higher  education  or  research  and  scientific  and  technical  institutions '. The mandate of the UGC includes not only determination of standards in Universities, but promotion and co-ordination of university education, determination and maintenance of  standards  of  teaching,  examination  and  research  in  Universities,  allocating  and disbursing out of the funds of the Commission grants to Universities, as it may deem necessary, for their development, or maintenance or both, and, in general, advancing the  cause  of  higher  education  in  India.  It  can  also  render  advice  to  Central,  State Governments  or  any  other  authority  on  matters  relating  to  establishment,  funding, expansion etc. of a University and, in general, for improvement of University education.

The UGC has laid down several Regulations to regulate the functioning of the Universities.  It  also  specifies  the  degrees  to  be  awarded  by  Universities  and  its affiliated/constituent  colleges  and  Institutions  established  by  Act  of  Parliament  for awarding degrees.

## Q.3 What is the structure of the UGC?

Answer: The  Commission  comprises  a  Chairman,  Vice-Chairman  and  ten  other members out of which two will be officials of the Central Government to respresent that Government  and  remaining  eight  will  be  part-time  members  chosen  against  sections 5(3)(b) and 5(3)(c) of the UGC Act, 1956.

The UGC  has  a  Secretariat, headed  by a Secretary appointed by the Commission. The UGC Secretariat is responsible for implementation of the decisions taken by the Commission

In pursuance to the National Policy on Education (1986), the UGC de-centralised its  working  by  opening  seven  regional  offices  catering  to  the  states  under  it.  The objectives of setting up these offices were to bring about de-centralisation and to ensure that  a  large  number  of  colleges  through  out  the  country,  which  are  covered  under Section 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act, will have better opportunities of response to their needs  and  problems  by  way  of  easier  access.  The  following  schemes  are  being implemented by the regional offices, namely: development of Colleges affiliated to State Universities;  Minor  Research  Projects  for  College  teachers;  Autonomous  Colleges; Seminar/Symposia/Conference  etc.  for  colleges;  Construction  of  Women's  Hostel (Special  scheme);  Award  of  Teacher  Fellowship  to  College  Teachers  for  doing M.Phil/Ph.D.; Financial assistance to Teachers - Visually Handicapped (Blind).

## Q.4. What is a Joint Degree?

Answer. A  Joint  Degree  means  a  single  degree  jointly  awarded  by  the  Indian Educational Institution and the collaborating Foreign Educational Institution.

## Q.5. Which Institutions come under the ambit of the UGC regulations?

Answer. Universities,  affiliated  colleges  and  deemed  to  be  universities,  other  than technical institutions, come under the ambit of the UGC Regulations. Indian Educational Institutions,  other  than technical  Institutions,  already  collaborating  prior  to  the  coming into  force  of  these  regulations,  or  intending  to  collaborate  with  Foreign  Educational Institution  for  offering  programme(s)  of  study  leading  to  award  of  degrees,  have  to comply with these regulations.

## Q.6. What is the detailed methodology for collaboration?

Answer. Any  Indian  Educational  Institution  collaborating  with  a  Foreign  Educational Institution  shall  have  to  enter  into  a  written  Memorandum  of  Understanding  or Agreement  with  the  Foreign  Educational  Institution  concerned  with  prior  approval obtained from the Commission for the purpose. Then the MoU or the Agreement shall be signed by both the partnering institution and a copy of such MoU or Agreement shall be  forwarded  to  the  Commission  and  also  be  uploaded  on  its  website  by  the  Indian Educational Institution.

## Q.7. What is the detailed procedure of approval?

Answer. Indian Higher Educational Institution (IEI) shall obtain the approval of its Board of  Governors/Syndicate/Executive  Council  for  the  academic  collaboration  with  the Foreign  Higher  Educational  Institution  (FEI)  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of Department of  Higher  Education,  Government  of  India  vide  F.No.6-2/2015-ICC  dated 17 th December, 2015 (at Annexure 'C') and its subsequent amendments, if any, issued from time to time. IHEI shall, thereafter, apply online on the dedicated UGC portal and also upload alongwith the application a digitally certified copy of draft MoU/ Agreement and  details  about  FHEI  including  the  infrastructure  facilities,  facilities  available  for instruction, faculty, specified fee, courses, curricula, requisite funds for operations for a minimum period of three years and other terms and conditions of collaboration, if any.

The  draft  MoU  or  Agreement  should  incorporate  the  provision  that  the  credits awarded by the IEI under the degree programmes covered in the collaboration, shall be accepted  by  the  FEI  not  only  for  collaboration  but  for  all  others  purposes,  including academic  mobility.  Further,  the  minimum  duration  of  programme  of  study,  covered under collaboration, in the FEI shall not be less than two semesters for UG programmes and one semester for the PG programmes.

The  Commission  after  receiving  the  online  application  alongwith  draft  MoU  or Agreement  shall  acknowledge  and  deficiencies  in  the  proposal,  if  any,  shall  be communicated and additional documents, if any required, shall be asked for within a period of 30 working days.

Once the Commission is satisfied that the proposal is complete in all respects, the proposal shall be placed before the sub-committee of the Commission referred to in the third proviso to Regulation 3(2)(b), for examining such proposals. The recommendations of the sub-committee shall be placed before the Commission which shall  take  the  decision  to  issue  a  letter  of  approval,  after  considering  various  factors including  quality  of  education,  overall  merit  of  the  proposal,  fees  to  be  charged, credibility  of  FHEI  as  well  as  IHEI.  In  case  the  Commission  does  not  approve  the proposal, a letter of rejection shall be issued on the designated UGC portal stipulating the  reasons  therefor.    All  communications  received  from  the  applicants  shall  be responded  to  by  the  UGC  within  a  period  of  60  working  days  from  the  date  of  their receipt.

Approval so granted shall be valid for two cycles of the minimum duration of the degree programmes covered under the collaboration or as specified otherwise. The IEI shall apply, on the designated UGC portal, for renewal of approval, granted under these regulations, before six months of its expiration.

## Q.8. What are the consequences of violation?

Answer. The Commission shall, on the basis of any complaint from any quarter may cause an inquiry, including physical inspection, of the collaborating arrangements and after  having  satisfied  itself  that  the  collaborating  institution(s)  is/are  not  functioning  in accordance  with  these  regulations,  under  section  14  of  the  Act,  may  revoke  the approval  for  collaboration  and  while  issuing  such  directions,  the  Commission  shall ensure that the students, who have already enrolled for such course or programme are permitted to continue till they obtain requisite qualification.

## Q.9. What is the procedure & practices adopted for granting equivalence?

Answer: Initially,  when  the  students  mobility  was  less  and  also  the  number of  Indian Universities  were  comparatively  fewer,  every  individual  case  of  equivalence  was assessed by the experts, which were referred, either by Indian or foreign Universities, Indian  Mission  abroad  or  by  other  Government    Agencies.  Normally  the  proposal  for equivalence  of  foreign  qualifications  was  received  from  Indian  Mission  abroad  or through the university concerned. The equivalence was established on course to course basis, based n the information on the following points:

-     Structure from Primary to University education.
-     Entry requirements
-     Nomenclature of the course certificate/degree
-     Accreditation status of the University/Institution in the home Country
-     Syllabus/course curriculum ad regulation of the course
-     System f evaluation
-     Requirement for passing
-     Parity of the degree outside the country-documentation thereof
-     Sample copy of the degree and academic transcript
-     Any other relevant information

Thereafter, each case for equivalence was examined with reference to International documentation available with us. These include 'International Handbook of Universities  (Published  by  IAU);  Commonwealth  Universities  Yearbook  (Published  by ACU);  International  Guide  to  Qualifications  in  Education-British  Council  Publication; American  Association  of  Collegiate  Registrars  and  Admission  Officers  (AACRAO) publication;  World  Guide  to  Qualifications  in  Higher  Education-UNESCO  Publication; Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education-and American Council on Education Publication. Supporting information is also obtained from Foreign Mission in New Delhi. The  matter  is  also  referred  to  International  Agencies  like  United  States  Educational Foundation  in  India,  British  Council  Division,  German  Academic  Exchange  Service (DADD) etc.

Each case of equivalency was referred to the Expert(s) for their Expert opinion and  after  the  opinion  was  received  the  same  was  placed  before  the  Equivalence Committee  for  their  consideration  and  perusal  and  was  finally  placed  before  the Governing Council for their ratification.

The  Policy  adopted  by  AIU  to  accord  equivalence  to  the  degree  has  been  as follows:

'AIU accords equivalence to the degrees pursued by the candidates full time on the campus of the university of its origin, provided the eligibility requirements, duration etc. remains the same as that of Indian Universities'.

The  three  basic  components  which  play  a  vital  role  in  the  determination  of  the equivalence are:

1. Eligibility requirements
2. Duration of the programme
3. Course curriculum etc.

Thus, AIU issues equivalence certificates only for the degrees which are pursued full time on the campus of the university(s) subject to fulfilment of the above parameters. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi, vide their letter dated 13 th March, 1995 issued a Notification that the equivalence done by AIU will be valid for the purpose of admission to higher education as well as for employment, in the country.

Till  few  years  back  AIU  followed  the  same  Policy,  but  after  the  increase  in students mobility  and  also  the  numbers  of  universities  where  from  the  students  have obtained their degrees from various parts of the world, AIU found it difficult to examine each  other  and  every    case  of  equivalence  and  therefore,  the  equivalence  is  now established on the basis of the following parameters:

1. Eligibility requirements
2. Duration of the programme

## 3. Accreditation status of the University(s)

Thus, AIU still continues to issue equivalence certificates in respect of degrees pursued full time on the campus of the university, of its Origin, provided the duration of the course and eligibility requirements remains the same as that of Indian Universities.

AIU facilitates the students by issuing Equivalence certificates to those students who have obtained their degrees after fulfilling the above parameters, from accredited foreign universities.

Degrees which are offered by the foreign accredited universities but are pursued, either partly or fully in India, are not accorded equivalence by AIU.  The AIU also does not  issue  equivalence  certificates  for  the  degrees  which  are  lesser  in  duration  in comparison to the Indian degrees.  Similarly, no Equivalence is issued for Diploma level programmes (offered in the field for engineering/short term Diploma programmes etc.) conducted in various parts of the world.

The  AIU  has  accorded  Equivalence  to  the  most  popular  System  of  School Education of the world viz. The British System (GCE 'O' & 'A' Level), American System (High  School  Diploma),  International  Baccalaureate  (IB)  awarded  by  the  International Baccalaureate  Organization  Geneva,  Switzerland,  French  International  Baccalaureate (IB), 12 year General Secondary School Certificate Examination conducted in most of the countries in Gulf etc. Equivalence certificate is issued to all those candidates who have passed the above examinations from any part of the world.

The following is a tentative list of +2 level qualifications recognized by AIU and their nomenclatures:

- i) 12 years Baccalaureate Certificate of Chad Gabon, France and Tunisia
2. ii) International  Baccalaureate  Diploma  awarded  by  international  Baccalaureate Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
3. iii) 12 years General Secondary Education Certificate of the Ministry of Education Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries.
4. (iv) GCE/IGCSE/GCSE  examination  of  the  approved  British  Examination  Bodies, with Minimum 5 (five) subjects in A, B, C Grades including English at ORDINARY ('O')  Level  and  Minimum  2/3  subjects  at  ADVANCED  LEVEL.  Candidates intending to join Professional courses are required to have passed the subjects to Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Mathematics in ADVANCED LEVEL & English at AS LEVEL.
5. (v) 12 Year High School Diploma from any accredited Schools of USA.
6. (vi) Intermediate/Senior Secondary/Higher Secondary examinations of the approved Boards in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
7. (vii) 12  year  Secondary  State  qualification  of  National  Examination  Board  of  the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia, Sudan.
8. (viii) 12-year Secondary  State examination  conducted  by various Provinces in *Canada and Australia.
9. (ix) GCE  'Ordinary  and  Advanced**'  level  examination  of  the  Departmental  of Education, Government of Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong & Mauritius.
10. (x) 12 year STPM examination of Malaysia.
11. (xi) 12  year  Secondary  State  qualification  of  Indonesia,  Japan,  Korea,  Republic  of Vietnam and Yemen Arab Republic.
12. (xii) 'Abitur' examination of Germany.
13. (xiii) 12 year High School Diploma*** awarded by the accredited American Schools/International  Schools  in  other  countries  following  American  System  of Education.
14. (xiv) Pre University Certificate Examination of the Ministry of Education, Iran.
15. (xv) 12 year Secondary School Certificate Examination of the Ministry of Education, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
16. (xvi) 12 Year Secondary School Certificate Examination of the Ministry of Education, Islamic Republic of Iraq.
17. (xvii) 12  Year  Senior  School  certificate  Examination  of  West  African  Examinations Council,  (WACE)  in  A,  B,  C  Grades  on  a  scale  of  1-4  (A-1,  B-2,  B-3,  C-4) conducted in the countries of NIgeria etc.
18. (xviii)  EXAMEN  D'ETAT  of  the  Ministry  of Primary, Secondary  & Professional Education in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
19. (xix) 12 year Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Examination with more than 5 (Five)  subjects  in  the  Grades  'A',  'B'&'C'  of  the  Kenya  National  Examinations Council, Nairobi, Kenya.
20. (xx) Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination with minimum 2 (Two) Principal  Passes  &  2  (Two)  Subsidary  Passes  of  the  National  Examinations Council of Tanzania.
21. (xxi) Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education Examination with minimum 2 (Two) Principal Passes & 2 (Two) Subsidary Passes of the Uganda Examination Board.
22. (xxii) Level 3 of New Zealand Qualification Authority.

* Candidates  having  passed  Ontario  Secondary  School  Diploma  of  the Ministry  of  Education,  Ontario  should  have  acquired  minimum  6  (Six)  'U/M' (University Preparatory Courses).

** Candidates having passes O and 'A' level examinations should fulfil the same conditions as prescribed at Sr. No. (IV).

*** High School Diploma awarded by the American Schools in USA and other parts  of  the  world  should  be  accredited  either  by  the  State  Departments  of Education in US OR by any of the following Six Regional Accrediting Agencies in USA:

1.  Middle States Association of School and Colleges.
2.  New England Association of School and Colleges.
3.  North Central Association of School and Colleges.
4.  Northwest Association of School and Colleges.
5.  Southern Association of School and Colleges.
6.  Western Association of School and Colleges.

AIU does not accept High School Diploma pursued through ONLINE/DISTANCE Mode and also GED Examination conducted in US.

## Q.10.  What is the position of the Ministry regarding opening of foreign campuses in the country?

Answer. The  status  paper,  submitted  to  PMO,  is  at  Annexure  'D'.    The  AICTE Regulations  are  at  Annexure  'E'.    A  copy  of  the  Foreign  Educational  Institutions (Regulation  of  Entry  and  Operations)  Bill,  2010,  that  was  introduced  in  the  XV th Lok Sabha and has lapsed with its dissolution, is at Annexure 'F'.

Q.11.  Is there any compilation of the Foreign Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Educational Institutions.

Answer.  The  details  are  not  centrally  maintained  as  institutions  are  autonomous,  by virtue of their Acts of Incorporation to enter into collaboration, subject to the instructions from the Cabinet Secretariat dated 17 th December, 2015.

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