The University Grants Commission (UGC) has relaxed norms for Indian colleges to collaborate with foreign higher education institutes to offer dual degrees, joint degrees, and twinning degree courses. Such collaborations between Indian and international universities were first allowed in 2016, however, after only fewer takers for these courses, UGC had relaxed the process of collaboration.
Instead of the top 500, now Indian universities can provide collaborative courses with the top 1000 internal universities. The ranks will be considered as per the two most prominent rankings – QS and THE. From India’s side, only those higher educational institutes which are either in 3.01 and above NAAC score or those in the top 1000 QS/ THE ranking, and top 100 universities in NIRF ranking will be eligible for these collaborations.
Under the collaboration, students will be allowed to pursue a certain time period of their course in a foreign institute. while for the twinning courses the upper limit of time spent at a foreign campus is capped at 30 per cent, for the dual and join programmes 30 per cent of course duration is the minimum time spent requirement.
In the case of a joint degree, students will get a degree from the Indian college along with a certificate from the foreign institute for the time spent on the said campus. In the case of twin degrees, students will get the degree signed by both Indian and foreign institutions, as per rules.
“Currently there are 4 crore students in Indian higher educational institute. The number will soon reach 10 core students. While we continue to build higher educational institutes, one of the many ways of providing a high-quality education to students is to have access to some of the best international curriculums while still being enrolled at home. We believe this will lead to the “internationalization” of higher education,” said UGC chairperson, M Jagdeesh Kumar.
Earlier, if two universities had to collaborate the procedure was elaborate, Now simplified approval process. No approval is needed from UGC for institutes that make the cut (as best ranking colleges).
This will also allow foreign students to study in Indian colleges, as well as the foreign faculty, curriculum, and best teaching practices will also be shared among institutions, which in turn, will lead to a better ranking of Indian colleges, said the UGC chairperson.
UGC has asked colleges to keep the fee within ‘reasonable’ limits, however, no specific upper limits have been suggested yet. Detailed guidelines for these collaborations will be issued soon by the UGC.
These collaborations are only applicable for full-time courses, the courses offered in ODL and online modes are not allowed to offer these.
Through these regulations, students can stay at home and access high-quality higher educational institutions and limited outward foreign exchange to some of the best minds in the country.
Students will also be offered exit pathways as suggested in NEP. So they drop they will get a certification if they leave the course mid-way. As per NEP, those who leave degrees after a year should be given certificates, those who leave after two years should get a diploma, and so on.
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