Foreign Educational Institutions Bill approved
New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) After a prolonged debate spanning over an year,
the Union Cabinet finally approved a Bill to regulate the entry and
operation of foreign educational institutions in the country.
cont'd....
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200703012179.htm
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India higher education 'perforated' by outside unis
Ravinder Rena
Middle East Times
March 8, 2007
MAI-NEFHI, Eritrea -- Foreign universities have played a significant
role in the Indian higher education scene for many years, attracting
many thousands of Indian students to their campuses each year. From 2004
to 2005 alone, 80,466 Indians enrolled in US institutions and at least
eight other countries have been actively recruiting Indian students in
the meantime.
Graduates of accredited foreign institutions, upon their return home,
play important roles in the development of India. Imagine how many more
opportunities would be available to Indian students if accredited
external institutions offered degree programs in India to expand higher
education access to local students.
The attraction of studying abroad as a complement to the higher
education available within India, is bound to continue for the
foreseeable future. For most students, the motivation for doing so is to
attain the best possible education. Competition for admission to India's
most prestigious institutions is very intense - only about 2 percent of
those taking the entrance exams to the acclaimed Indian Institutes of
Technology and Management gain admission - and other high-quality
education options are needed for the many talented students who are
turned away from these and other premier schools. Moreover, the Indian
student population is growing at a fast pace, and local institutions
strapped for funds will be hard-pressed to create places to accommodate
the demand.
cont'd....
http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070308-074541-1202r
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EDUCATION: FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES BILL
Rein On Their Parade
Foreign education can come to India, but on our terms
Anuradha Raman
It is being seen as a major victory for the HRD ministry. When the Union
cabinet cleared the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill last week, it
chose not to go completely with the recommendations of the commerce
ministry which wanted foreign universities wishing to set up shop in
India to be given a free hand. Instead, it took note of the concerns of
the HRD ministry and wove in a regulatory mechanism in the bill to
monitor the functioning of foreign educational institutions (FEIS) in India.
Such a move, according to HRD officials, has become imperative since
there have been several instances of foreign education providers just
upping and leaving, and their students' prospects floundering. Two years
ago, a Pennsylvania-based institute, with branches in Hyderabad and
Malaysia, drew curtains on its operations because they were proving
unviable, leaving some 1,600 students at their uprooted altar. "There
are roughly 180 programmes operating in the country," reveals M.
Anandakrishnan, chairman at IIT-Kanpur and head of the Madras Institute
of Development Studies. "And a majority of them are dubious. How are
students to be protected from being fleeced by such operators?"
cont'd....
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070319&fname=Arjun+Singh+(F)&sid=1