Patna, Dec. 18: Questions are being raised over the fate of the state-level universities if foreign universities enter India after controversies put the entry of FDI in the retail segment on the backburner.

The issue, among other topics, came up for discussion at a seminar on the pros and cons of the entry of foreign universities into the country organised by Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh at AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.

Over 300 delegates from across the country took part in the two-day seminar.

Speaking on the second day of the event, Mahasangh general secretary J.P. Singhal said: “The Centre, before taking any decision on allowing foreign universities to enter the country, should ensure that they do not become profit-making institutions.”

Singhal further said that even though the Union government has given its consent to foreign universities to open campuses in India, none of the major universities or educational institutions such as Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard University has shown interest to open centres in the country.

He pointed out that 631 foreign educational institutions were functioning in India and were offering courses on different subjects. “These institutions, in the name of offering degrees, are making a lot of money,” he said.

He added that in India, foreign universities have so far been allowed to function only in collaboration with Indian institutes.

Several other speakers, including Mahasangh president R.S. Mishra, apprehended that if foreign institutes were allowed in the country, there would be “commercialisation of education”.

The Union cabinet had in 2010 cleared the tabling of Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operation, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill, 2010. If the bill, which is yet to be passed in Parliament, becomes a low, foreign universities would be able to set up their own campuses in the country.

The two-day seminar concluded today.