Creating an academic destination for foreign students requires certain conditions. The University Grants Commission has instructed higher education institutions to add up to 25% of supernumerary seats over their sanctioned total exclusively for foreign students. This is a first step because overseas candidates studying undergraduate and postgraduate courses need to be accommodated apart from students from within the country. Simple and transparent admission processes and a student-friendly atmosphere could gradually turn India into an international academic hub as envisaged by the National Education Policy, 2020. To streamline the process, the UGC has asked for dedicated offices for foreign students and the notification of programmes, fees and eligibility criteria on the HEIs’ websites.
But increasing seats and easing admission alone cannot magically transform India into a global academic destination. The UGC’s suggestions seem to overlook the challenges that Indian universities and colleges are mired in today. In a country where HEIs often lack adequate infrastructure, research facilities and teacher strength as things stand, encouraging foreign students in extra seats may not be easy. This is especially important for research and professional degrees. Another important necessity is the standard and size of laboratories. Only a few HEIs can boast of laboratories which are as alluring as overseas ones. All institutions must have modern, well-run residence halls too. As for a student-friendly atmosphere, the suppression of student protests in the South Asian University, which takes in foreign students, and the violence on campus over non-vegetarian food served in a mess on Mahashivaratri, to cite a few examples, do not augur well. What is needed is a change of mindset — a hospitable atmosphere and an acceptance of diversity. Another challenge is the lack of autonomy that HEIs suffer from or the ideological compliance with one political party that their administrations exhibit. The university courses must be attractive and superior enough to make a degree from India valuable. For that, each institution must build on its core competencies. There should be a rational freedom in faculty selection and the fixing of fees for foreign students as is the case in some HEIs elsewhere. Increasing seats by 25% with no financial backing is not practical. It is best to take the UGC’s prompting as a first step and prepare the ground for the change. The challenges must be addressed before the project takes off.