India is a young nation, it holds an important place in the global education industry as the country has the world’s largest population of about 580 million in the age bracket of 05-24 years which provides a great opportunity for the steady growth of the Indian education sector. The country’s education landscape includes 1028 universities, 45,000 standalone institutions,15 lakh schools, 94 lakh teachers, and 374 lakh students in 2020, more than any other country in the world. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the education sector was estimated at $91.7 billion in 2018 and is expected to increase to $225 billion by 2025. It is further projected that India requires additional 200,000 schools, 50,000 colleges, and 1000 universities besides 40 million seats in vocational training centers. Enrolment in higher education institutions however stands at approximately 27.4 million today and it is estimated to grow by nearly 38% by the year 2030, with India potentially emerging as the single-largest provider of global talent where one in four graduates in the world could be a product of the Indian higher education system. The Government of India has brought renewed focus on the education sector with the roll-out of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which lays down the future road map of foreign education in India. The recent surge in the role of technology in the education sector has opened further possibilities for foreign higher education institutions to set up virtual platforms offering online courses to Indian students. The NEP 2020 had envisioned that top universities in the world will be facilitated to operate for the first time in India. The regulatory framework of India allowing the entry of higher-ranked foreign varsities will provide an international dimension to higher education in the country, enable Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at affordable cost, and make India an attractive global study destination.
It is a moment of exuberance and delights for all the higher education fraternity especially the proponents of International higher education in the country. According to University Grants Commission (UGC), over 4.5 lakh Indian students in 2022 went abroad to study, leading to an outflow of an estimated about $28-30 billion from the country. Allowing foreign universities to set up campuses in India will also ensure that all our students-there are around 40 million pursuing higher education-have access to global quality education. The foreign institution shall have the autonomy to recruit faculty and staff from India and abroad as per its recruitment norms. It shall ensure that the foreign faculty appointed to teach at the Indian campus shall stay at the campus in India for a reasonable period. Foreign varsities will also have to ensure the quality of education imparted at their Indian campuses is on par with their main campus. Studying abroad and getting a degree from an Ivy League college has always been a dreamt for many Indian students, but most of them could not afford to get a quality education from the top universities because of their financial issues.
The UGC has announced in 2023 that foreign universities can set up their campuses in India and Indian students will now be able to experience foreign education in India at an affordable cost without any overseas travel. This move to internationalize education came as a step towards maintaining India's heavily regulated education sector to allow Indian students to obtain foreign qualifications at affordable fees. It will make India an attractive global study destination. Not only this, but it will also help overseas educational institutions to establish their off-shore campus for the benefit of nation's young population.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) further estimates that nearly 3/4th of Indian students leaving the country for higher education can stay in India if foreign universities set shop in the country. The Indian Government has embarked on initiatives such as Study in India which aim to attract foreign students to study in India. The entry of foreign universities would thus increase the number of quality educational institutions in the country. India can emerge as a global hub for higher education attracting students from different parts of the world. This not only has monetary benefits in the form of foreign exchange, but it also boosts India’s soft power. It is in this regard, the Foundation for Education for All has closely been working with the world’s top-ranked overseas universities in USA, UK, Germnay, France, Holland, Singapore, Switerland, etc., to set up their hi-tech campus in the country for providing graduate programs related to STEM & Multi-Disciplinary Areas, Medical & Public Health, Films & Media, Sports & Yoga, Tourism & Hospitality, New-Age Skills besides promoting the delivery of high quality higher education in a modular fashion with clear and multiple entry-exit pathways, to replicate one of the successful models of International Education City in countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Khong, Singapore, Dubai, Qatar, and Malaysia, well aligned with the reforms of the NEP 2020 which advocate the multidisciplinary approach in Indian higher education institutions.
The proposed multi foreign university campus will actively pursue partnerships with top universities in the world and runs joint and dual under graduate, post graduate and research programs with well-established universities. The foreign university campus works closely with the biggest industry players in making its research relevant to society. With more than 100 academic partners, international exchange students are a common sight on the sprawling campus as planned by the university. Believing in the benefits of global exposure and immersion for its students, the group of foreign universities aims to have at least 200 undergraduates and 100 postgraduates studnets go overseas at least once during their studies. This can be through student exchanges, summer programs, field trips, research attachments, internships and industrial attachments, competitions, conferences and more. Foreign Direct Investment has always been a matter of concern for India, when it comes to education sector, 100% FDI is allowed by the Union Government. There has been an enhanced interest shown by foreign universities too in the Indian Higher Education Sector on various relations.
The education sector across India has witnessed a paradigm shift in recent times. Once viewed largely as a charitable or philanthropic activity, it has since metamorphosed into an ‘industry’.However, due to an increase in the competitiveness in the marketplace coupled with the increasing need to expand quality higher education, policymakers have slowly but steadily set the Indian education sector on the reforms track. The vision of India’s new education system under the NEP 2020 has been crafted to ensure that it touches the life of every citizen, consistent with their ability to contribute to many growing developmental imperatives of this country on one hand, and towards creating a just and equitable society on the other. Several initiatives are being taken by the Union Government in recent times to encourage investments in the education sector including greater participation by foreign educational institutions in academic collaboration with the Indian educational service providers. India is blessed with a demographic dividend; every third person in India is a youth. This favourable demographic brings along with the enormous economic opportunities. However, the ability to seize these opportunities depends on how successfully the challenges plaguing the Indian education system can be addressed. Indian education framework suffers from poor infrastructure and capacity constraints. There is a shortage of trained teachers, which has become a major concern for the higher education sector. It is not denying factor that only very few students in India can afford to go abroad for higher education as a result. International universities, seeing the huge demand and acknowledging the resource gap, have begun collaborating with Indian universities to offer courses at affordable prices in recent years. In this scenario, setting up of multi-foreign university campus by the Foundation for Education for All with solid infrastructure investment in the country is likely to see a considerable increase in the current decade, this is the beginning of providing quality driven foreign education by overseas universities directly to the aspiring Indian students and working young professionals without leaving the country.