31

Chapter 3

Review of Literature

32

Chapter 3

Review of Literature

Historical Perspective of Higher Education

Higher Education in India

Five Year Plans: Thrust Areas on Higher Education in India

Private Sector Participation in Indian Higher Education

Higher Education System in India and its impact on economy

Higher Education System Globally

Internationalization of Higher Education

Internationalization of Higher Education in India

National & International Models of Internationalization of Higher

Education

33

Historical Perspective of Higher Education:

The development of education is a continuum, which gathers its past history into a

living stream, flowing through the present into the future. It is essential to see the

historical background of education development to understand the present and

visualize the future.

Education is the most vital input for the growth and prosperity of a nation. It provides

strength and resilience to enable people to respond to the changing needs of the hour.

Education is the backbone of all national endeavors. It has the power to transform

human beings into human resource. We cannot build a sustainable and prosperous

nation without human resource development which mainly depends on the health and

vitality of higher education. Apart from primary and secondary education, higher

education is the main instrument for development and transformation. Higher

education has the omnipotent role of preparing leaders for different walks of life:

social, political, economic, cultural, scientific and technological. Higher education has

special value in the contemporary knowledge society which contributes both directly

and indirectly to the wealth of a nation (Report to the People on Education, 2010-11).

Traditionally, higher education catered to the requirement of few select communities

like priests, lawyers and doctors. The objective of higher education was to provide

specific skills. During the medieval age, emphasis of higher education was laid on

liberal arts and study of religion. In the late 17th

and 18th

century, with the industrial

revolution there was a need for education in science and technology. However, during

the 20th

century, education started acquiring an open character. With a ‗knowledge

force‘ becoming an essential requirement for national development, there was an

increased demand for professional education. With the advent of information and

communication technology, higher education saw a paradigm change in both

philosophy and pedagogy (Powar, K B, 2012).

In the 21st century, with the impact of globalization, due to increased trade

investments and mobility of people across borders, there has been a need to adopt

higher education to the changed global reality.

34

Higher Education in India:

A monastic order of education under the supervision of a guru was a favored form of

education for the nobility in ancient India. The knowledge in these orders was often

related to the tasks a section of the society had to perform. The priest class, the

Brahmins were imparted knowledge of religion, philosophy, and other ancillary

branches while the warrior class, the Kshatriya, were trained in the various aspects of

warfare. The business class, the Vaishya, were taught their trade and the lowered class

of the Shudras was generally deprived of educational advantages. The book of laws,

the Manusmriti, and the treatise on statecraft the Arthashastra were among the

influential works of this era which reflect the outlook and understanding of the world

at the time (Gupta P.V, 2004).

Apart from the monastic orders, institutions of higher learning and universities

flourished in India well before the common era, and continued to deliver education

into the common era. Secular Buddhist institutions cropped up along with

monasteries. These institutions imparted practical education, e.g. medicine. A number

of urban learning centres became increasingly visible from the period between 200

BCE to 400 CE. The important urban centres of learning were Takshashila and

Nalanda, among others. These institutions systematically imparted knowledge and

attracted a number of foreign students to study topics such as logic, grammar,

medicine, metaphysics, arts and crafts (World Bank, 2003).

By the time of the visit of the Islamic scholar Alberuni (973-1048 CE), India already

had a sophisticated system of mathematics and science in place, and had made a

number of inventions and discoveries (World Bank, 2003).

With the arrival of the British Raj in India a class of Westernized elite was versed in

the Western system of education which the British had introduced. This system soon

became solidified in India as a number of primary, secondary, and tertiary centres for

education cropped up during the colonial era. Between 1867 and 1941 the British

increased the percentage of the population in Primary and Secondary Education from

around 0.6% of the population in 1867 to over 3.5% of the population in 1941.

35

However this was much lower than the equivalent figures for Europe where in 1911

between 8 and 18% of the population were in primary and secondary education.

Additionally, literacy was also improved. In 1901, the literacy rate in India was only

about 5% though by Independence it was nearly 20% (Gupta P.V, 2004).

Following independence in 1947, Maulana Azad, India's first education minister

envisaged strong central government control over education throughout the country,

with a uniform educational system. However, given the cultural and linguistic

diversity of India, it was only the higher education dealing with science and

technology that came under the jurisdiction of the central government. The

government also held powers to make national policies for educational development

and could regulate selected aspects of education throughout India.

A little more than half a century has passed since the Government initiated a planned

development of higher education in the country with the establishment of University

Grants Commission (UGC) in 1953.

Source: www.ugc.ac.in

The University Grants Commission came into existence in 1953 and the UGC Act

came into force in 1956 with the objective of promotion and coordination of

university education and for determination and maintenance of standards of teaching,

examination and research in universities. As per its mandate UGC has been taking

steps, through various schemes, to promote quality education having regard to the

36

concerns of Access, Equity, Quality, Excellence, Relevance and Value based

education (JBS Working Paper Series, 2008)

The policy for the development of higher education has been mainly governed by the

―National policy on Education‖ of 1986 (as modified in 1992) and its Program of

Action 1992. The 1986 policy and Action Plan of 1992 were based on the two land

mark reports namely, the ―University Education Commission Report‖ of 1948-49

(popularly known as Radhakrishnan Commission), and the ―Education Commission

Report‖ of 1964-66, (popularly known as Kothari Commission). These two reports, in

fact, laid down the basic framework for the National Policy of 1986 for higher

education in the country (Shukla, Snehlata, V.P. Garg, Sarla et al, 1994).

The National Policy on Higher Education (1986) translated the vision of

Radhakrishnan Commission and Kothari Commission in five main goals for higher

education, as enumerated below; which include Greater Access, Equal Access (or

Equity), Quality and Excellence, Relevance and Value Based Education (Kuppusamy,

S, 2009):

a. Greater Access requires an enhancement in the education institutional capacity to

provide opportunities to all who deserve and desire higher education.

b. Equity involves fair access to the poor and the socially disadvantaged groups.

c. Quality and Excellence involve provision of education by accepted standard so

that students receive available knowledge of the highest standard and help them to

enhance their human resource capabilities.

d. Relevance involves promotion of education so as to develop human resources

keeping pace with the changing economic, social and cultural development of the

country; and

e. Value Based Education involves inculcating basic moral values among the youth.

37

The Action Plan of 1992 included schemes and programs which were directed

towards expansion of intake capacity in general, and that of the disadvantaged groups

such as the poor, SC, ST, minorities, girls, the physically challenged persons, and

those in the educationally backward regions, in particular. The Schemes/Programmes

were designed to improve the quality through strengthening academic and physical

infrastructure, to promote excellence in those institutions which have exhibited

potential for excellence, and to develop curriculum to inculcate right values among

the youth (Vrat, Prem, 2006).

The Central Government of India formulated the National Policy on Education (NPE)

in 1986 and also reinforced the Programme of Action (POA) in 1986. The

government initiated several measures the launching of DPEP (District Primary

Education Programme) and SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, India's initiative for

Education for All) and setting up of Navodaya Vidyalaya and other selective schools

in every district, advances in female education, inter-disciplinary research and

establishment of open universities. India's NPE also contains the National System of

Education, which ensures some uniformity while taking into account regional

education needs. The NPE also stresses on higher spending on education, envisaging a

budget of more than 6% of the Gross Domestic Product. While the need for wider

reform in the primary and secondary sectors is recognized as an issue, the emphasis is

also on the development of science and technology education infrastructure (World

Bank, Report, 2005).

India has been a major seat of learning for thousands of years. The present format of

higher education in India was started in 1857 with the inception of universities in the

three presidency towns like Madras, Bombay & Calcutta. At present, India possesses

a highly developed higher education system which offers facility of education and

training in almost all aspects of human‘s creative and intellectual endeavors such as

arts and humanities, natural, mathematical and social sciences, engineering; medicine,

agriculture, education, law, commerce and management, music and performing arts,

national and foreign languages, culture, communications etc (Report of the University

Education Commission, 1962).

38

Constitutional Provision:

Under Indian Constitution, as amended by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, education is

in the concurrent list. Under Article 246 in the VIIth Schedule, entry 25 of list III

vests the State Government with the power to legislate upon ―education, including

technical education, medical education and the universities, subject to the provisions

of entries 63,64,65,66 of list I and vocational and technical training of labourers.‖

Entry 66 of list I in the VIIth Schedule of the Constitution of India vests Central

Government with the power to legislate for ―Co-ordination and determination of

standards, in institutions, for higher education or research and scientific and technical

institutions‖. The Constitutional provision clearly lays down that entry 25; list III by

which the state government has the power to establish university is subject to the

power of Parliament to legislate under entry 66 to maintain the required standards of

higher education. This point was made clearer by the Supreme Court of India (1987)

in the landmark case of Osmania University Teachers Association versus State of

Andhra Pradesh and others. It is thus the constitutional obligation upon the Central

government to regulate maintenance of the standards of higher education (Sripati, V.

and Thiruvengadam, A., 2004).

The UGC Act, 1956 states ―the Constitution of India vests Parliament with exclusive

authority in regard to ―coordination and determination of standards in institutions for

higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions‖. UGC Act,

clause (f) and (g) of Section 26 guides UGC regarding minimum standards and its

maintenance in universities. The above-referred constitutional provisions have

implication on the entry of foreign universities in India. As education falls under the

Concurrent list both union and state governments alone can pass legislations for

establishment of universities, which in turn could confer degrees on students upon

attainment of qualifications. Further, UGC Act lays down that a university has to be

established by an Act of Parliament or Assembly. This situation requires that the UGC

Act needs to be amended to create room for the foreign universities to operate in

India, to enable the central or the state government to allow a foreign university to

confer degree to the students or title to the teachers on Indian soil. This argument is

reinforced by the fact that the Constitution of India in the Article 18 (1) stipulates,

―No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the

State‖. This article imposes the necessity to amend UGC Act to allow the foreign

39

university to be included in the definition of university or by creating special

provisions for foreign universities and recognition of their Degrees. Only then by

means of Article 18 (1) the State can legally delegate its power, through a statute, to

any foreign university to confer degree to the students and title to the teachers in India

(University Grants Commission, 2003).

Education Policy in India:

In India education has always been governed by the tenets of accessibility, quality and

social inclusion. In plain speak this translates to low tuition fee, accreditation by

governmental authorities and reservation quotas on caste basis. In India where the

number of higher education institutions is so scarce, the common student finds

himself at a loss due to the quota system, as qualifying for these exams becomes more

a matter of elimination than selection (Ministry of Human Resource Development,

Government of India, 2000).

Industry and services sectors say that only a miniscule number of graduates are

readily employable and that they incur heavy expenses on retraining the youth to

acquire skill sets required for employment. The industry academia divide needs to be

addressed and for this liberalists advocate reforms as set forth by the knowledge

commission.

India today does not have a clearly defined FEI policy nor a clear policy on foreign

direct investment in education, unlike countries like China, Singapore etc. However

the supporters of the draconian regulations to allow direct foreign investment in India,

insist that no developed country allows FDI in education freely. Meanwhile it is pretty

much a wait and watch story as to who blinks first the socialists or the liberals in an

environment where economic growth will perhaps drive the final decision (Sharma,

K.A, 2008).

40

Regulatory Framework:

The institutions imparting higher education at different levels are regulated by the

following bodies:

University Grants Commission UGC (www.ugc.ac.in):

UGC set up under UGC Act 1956 is responsible for coordination, determination, and

maintenance of standards and release of grants to universities and research

organizations. The Indian constitution makes education a responsibility of the Centre

as well as the federating states. The ―coordination and determination of standards in

institutions of higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions‖ is

exclusively the responsibility of the centre. To take care of this provision, the UGC

was established as a statutory body required to regulate academic standards in

addition to giving funds .The UGC is thus a coordinating as well as a grant giving

body for academic purposes. Grants given by the UGC are meant to develop the

academic and research programmes in the universities.

The National Accreditation Association Council of India (NAAC) works under the

UGC and helps in quality maintenance through accreditation procedures for

universities.

Association of Indian Universities AIU (www.aiuweb.org):

This body is a comprising of vice chancellors of all member universities, with a view

to coordinate the work of all universities, establish equivalence between degrees

awarded by Indian and foreign universities, conduct research on various aspects of

university development, organize training and development programmes for

administrators, develop databases on higher education and publications, represent the

universities in national and international forums.

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR (www.csir.res.in):

Established in 1942, it is an autonomous council and the premier organization for

industrial research. To this end, the council carries out researches as well as sponsors

research to accelerate industrial development. It undertakes contract based R and D

for the industry. The CSIR has 39 national laboratories and institutes which specialize

41

in different areas of industrial research. There are an additional 47 extension centres

of the CSIR across India.

Medical Council of India, MCI (www.mciindia.org):

MCI was set up by the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, amended in 1993. The

Council is empowered to prescribe minimum standards for medical education

required for granting recognized medical qualifications by universities or medical

institutions in India. The Council is also responsible to give its recommendations to

the Central Government for establishing new medical colleges, opening of new or

higher courses of study and increase in admission capacity in any courses of study or

training.

All India Council of Technical Education, AICTE (www.aicte-india.org):

The AICTE was established in 1987 for ensuring proper planning and coordinated

development of technical education (this includes engineering, management education

amongst others) and for the regulation of proper norms and maintenance of standards.

For this the council constituted the NBA (National Board of Accreditation) that

periodically reviews and evaluates technical institutes or programmes and

recommends their recognition or de-recognition. The AICTE also provides funds to

institutes for development and new initiatives.

Indian Council for Social Science Research, ICSSR (www.icssr.org):

The ICSSR constituted in 1969 is entrusted with the responsibility of the development

of social science disciplines. It finances research in these disciplines, maintains

databases, funds training programmes in research methodologies, funds organizations

for developing documentation services and research information, funds and organizes

visits from abroad, seminars and bringing out publications. It also assists in giving

fellowships and study grants. Today it assists 27 research institutes in the field and six

regional centres across India.

42

National Council for Teacher Education, NCTE (www.ncte-india.org):

NCTE is a statutory body set up under the National Council for Teacher Education

Act, 1993 to facilitate planned and coordinated development of the teacher education

system in the country, and for regulation and proper maintenance of norms and

standards in the teacher education system. The Council is empowered to grant

recognition of institutions offering courses or training in teacher education.

Indian Council for Medical Research, ICMR (www.icmr.nic.in):

The ICMR is the body that formulates, coordinates and promotes biomedical research

in India. It funds research institutes in the field entirely and through grants-in-aid

given to non ICMR institutes. Intramural research today for the ICMR is being carried

out in 29 permanent National Research institutes and Regional Research Institutes.

Indian Council for Agricultural Research, ICAR (www.icar.org.in):

This is an organization under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education

of the Ministry of Agriculture with the role of developing agricultural technologies,

input material, and critical scientific base for attaining self-sufficiency in food. It is a

national autonomous body. Its activities are organized into those pertaining to Crop

sciences, Horticulture, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Engineering,

Animal Sciences, Fisheries, Agricultural Extension and education. It has also been

instrumental in the setting up and growth of agricultural universities that have today

led to India‘s self-sufficiency in food- grains.

Dentists Council of India, DCI (www.dciindia.org):

DCI constituted under the Dentists Act, 1948, is a statutory body incorporated under

an Act of Parliament to regulate the dental education and the profession of dentistry

throughout India. The council is responsible for according recognition to dental

degree awarded by various universities and also for maintaining uniform standards of

dental education in India.

43

Pharmacy Council of India, PCI (www.pci.nic.in):

PCI also known as central council was constituted under Section 3 of the Pharmacy

Act, 1948. The PCI controls pharmacy education and profession in India up to

graduate level. The council prescribes the minimum standard of education for

qualification as pharmacist.

Indian Nursing Council, INC (www.indiannursingcouncil.org):

INC is a statutory body constituted under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The

council is responsible for regulation and maintenance of a uniform standard of

training for nurses, midwives, auxiliary nurse-midwives and health visitors.

Bar Council of India, BCI (www.barcouncilofindia.org):

BCI is empowered to make rules to discharge its functions under the Advocates Act

1961. An important rule-making power is with reference to laying down guidelines

for the standards of professional conduct and etiquette to be observed by advocates.

The Bar Council of India rules may prescribe for a class or category of person entitled

to be enrolled as advocate. The Bar Council of India can also specify the conditions

subject to which an advocate must have the right to practice and the circumstances

under which a person must be deemed to practice as an advocate in a court.

Central Council of Homeopathy, CCH (www.cchindia.com):

CCH was established under the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. The council

prescribes and recognizes all homeopathic medicine qualifications. Any university or

medical institutions that desires to grant a medical qualification in homeopathy is

required to apply to the council. The council is responsible for constitution and

maintenance of a Central Register of Homoeopathy and for matters connected

therewith. All universities and board of medical institutions in India are required to

furnish all information regarding courses of study and examination.

44

Central Council for Indian Medicine, CCIM (www.ccimindia.org):

CCIM is the statutory body constituted under the Indian Medicine Central Council

Act, 1970. This council prescribes minimum standards of education in Indian Systems

of Medicine viz. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani Tibb. The council is responsible to

maintain a Central Register on Indian Medicine and prescribes standards of

professional conduct, etiquette and code of ethics to be observed by the practitioners.

Council of Architecture, COA (www.coa.gov.in):

COA was constituted under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972, enacted by the

Parliament of India. The Act provides for registration of Architects, standards of

education, recognized qualifications and standards of practice to be complied with by

the practicing architects. The Council of Architecture is responsible to regulate the

education and practice of profession throughout India besides maintaining the register

of architects. Any person desirous of carrying on the profession of "Architect" must

register himself with Council of Architecture.

Distance Education Council, DEC (www.dec.ac.in):

DEC was constituted under statute 28 arising from Section 25 of the Indira Gandhi

National Open University Act, 1985. The Distance Education Council (DEC) is

responsible for the promotion and coordination of the Open University and distance

education system and for determination of its standards. The Council provides

academic guidelines to promote excellence, encourage use of innovative technologies

and approaches, enable convergence of all systems and sharing of resources through

collaborative networking for access to sustainable education, skill up gradation and

training to all.

Rehabilitation Council of India, RCI (www.rehabcouncil.nic.in):

The Parliament enacted Rehabilitation Council of India Act in 1992. It prescribes that

any one delivering services to people with disability, who does not possess

qualifications recognized by RCI, could be prosecuted. Thus the Council has the twin

responsibility of standardizing and regulating the training of personnel and

professional in the field of Rehabilitation and Special Education.

45

National Council for Rural Institutes, NCRI (www.ncri.in):

NCRI is an autonomous society fully funded by the Ministry of Human Resources

Development, Government of India. It was established with a main objective of

promoting Rural Higher Education for advancing rural livelihoods with the instrument

of education based on the values proposed by Gandhiji.

State Councils of Higher Education, SCHE (www.ugc.ac.in/page/State-Higher-

Education-Councils.aspx):

Following the National Policy on Education, respective state governments have

established State Councils of Higher Education (SCHE). These councils prepare

coordinated programs of development of higher education in each state. Thus, they

seek to consolidate the efforts and investments of institutions of higher education with

the state.

The Present institutional framework in the Indian higher education system

(www.ugc.ac.in):

Central Universities: A Central University in India is established by the Government

of India, by Act of Parliament.

State Universities: A State University in India is established by the State

Government, by State Legislature.

Deemed Universities: Institutions which have been accorded the status of a

university with authority to award their own degrees through central government

notification. Deemed Universities are established under section 3 of the UGC Act.

Open University: Open University can be a central or state University imparting

education exclusively through distance mode in any branch or branches of knowledge.

46

Institutes of National Importance: Some of the higher education institutions are

awarded the said status of Institutes of National Importance by the act of Parliament.

Other Institutions: Include the Institutions established by State Legislative Act and

colleges affiliated to the University, both government-aided and –unaided.

Academic Qualification Framework (Kaul, Sanat, 2006):

There are three principle levels of qualifications within the higher education system in

the country which are as under:

Bachelor/ Undergraduate level: Bachelor's degree is offered after 12 years of school

education. Generally it is offered in two streams: liberal and professional field of

studies. The liberal studies are generally three years programme offered in arts,

commerce and sciences. Some institutions offer bachelor courses with honours in

liberal studies which are not necessarily longer in duration but indicate greater depth

of study. Bachelor degree in professional studies is generally a four years programme

offered in agriculture, dentistry, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, technology, and

veterinary. The bachelors in architecture and medicine take five and five and a half

years respectively. There are other bachelor programmes which are offered only after

completion of first bachelor degree. These include one year bachelors in education,

journalism and library and information science. Similarly a Bachelor's degree in law

can be pursued only after completion of first bachelor degree but is of three years

bachelor programme. The bachelor degree in law is also offered as an integrated

degree lasting five years.

Master's / Post-graduate level: Master's degree is normally of two-year duration in

both the liberal and professional fields of study. It could be coursework based with or

without thesis or research. Now a days to match the skill requirement, fast track

programmes in professional streams such as Executive MBA are also available to

those having 3 to 5 years of experience at managerial level. Some Master's degree

such as in Library and Information Science lasts for one year while in Computer

Science lasts for three years.

47

Pre-Doctoral / Doctoral level: A pre-doctoral programme - Master of Philosophy

(M. Phil.) is taken after completion of the Master's Degree. This can either be

completely research based or can include course work as well which is generally of

one and half year duration. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is pursued after masters or

pre-doctoral programme and generally takes two to five years to be awarded. Students

are expected to write a substantial thesis based on original research with or without

course work.

Diploma: Diploma Courses are also available at the undergraduate and postgraduate

level. At the undergraduate level, it varies between one to three years in length while

postgraduate diplomas are normally awarded after one year‘s study.

Distance Learning Programmes: At all the levels, programmes in both liberal and

professional field are offered through distance learning mode which normally takes

longer duration than their equivalent regular programme.

Growth of Higher Education in India:

Before Independence, access to higher education was very limited and elitist, with

enrolment of less than a million students in 500 colleges and 20 universities. Since

independence, the growth has been very impressive. Today, Indian higher education

system comprising of (UGC Annual Report, 2010-2011):

Number of universities has increased 25 times

Number of colleges has increased 62 times & Since Independence

Student enrollment has gone up 69 times

Total number of universities – 656

43 Central Universities,

289 State Universities

139 State Private Universities,

130 Deemed University,

50 Institutes of National Importance,

5 Institutions established under State legislation,

48

31,980 institutions Higher Education Institutions across varied fields of study,

more than USA & China, but the student enrollment in higher education is lesser

than that of USA or China.

India has the largest target population for higher education in the world. Currently

the Indian population in the relevant age group to enroll into a higher education

course is more than that of Europe, USA and Australia combined (Netscribes

Higher Education Report, 2009). This signifies the abundant untapped potential.

The Indian higher education system has established itself as the largest in the

world, in terms of number of institutions, and one of the largest (3rd

after China &

USA) in terms of student enrollment.

Funding of Higher Education:

Higher Education in India has been receiving continuous financial support from both

the Central and the State Governments. At the start of the planning process in 1950,

the total allocation for higher education was only Rs.170 million which has now gone

beyond Rs.90,000 million. This impressive increase is offset to some extent by the

rise in prices (inflation) and rise in number of students entering higher education. An

analysis of government expenditure on higher education shows a real annual growth

rate of 7.5per cent in the 1950s, 11per cent in the 1960s, 3.4per cent, in the 1970s, and

7.3per cent in the 1980s (CABE Report 2005). From the Annual Financial Statistics

of Education Sector 2003-4, it is clear that the total expenditure by the government on

education has increased by 243per cent during the period 1993-94 to 2004-05. It is

interesting to note that the plan allocation for higher education which went up to

28per cent in the fifth plan period(1974-79) has been slowly decreasing on a year on

year basis and came down to 6per cent of total plan expenditure during the tenth plan

period(2002-2007). Further the priority was given to technical education by allocating

10.72per cent against 9.53per cent of higher education during the tenth plan. The total

allocation for higher and technical education in the 11th

Five Year plan was raised to

an unprecedented level to Rs. 84,943 crore which was recorded 9 fold increase over

49

the 10th

plan allocation (Rs. 96,00 crore). The allocation for higher education sector

alone was Rs. 46,449 crore (UGC 12th

FYP 2012-17).

Issues and Concerns:

Although Higher Education has expanded several times since independence, issues of

access, equity, and quality still continue to be the areas of concern (JBS Working

Paper Series, 2008.

Access: The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER), measures, the access level by taking the

ratio of persons in all age groups enrolled in various programs to total population in

age group of 16 to 23. For Higher Education GER has risen from 0.7per cent in 1950-

51 to 1.4 per cent in 1960-61, and 8per cent in early 2000. The current GER which is

about 13.8 per cent stands very low when compared to the world average of 23.2per

cent, and an average of 54.6per cent for developed countries, 36.3per cent for

countries in transition, and 11.3 per cent for developing countries. The targeted GER

in higher education was fixed at 15% by the end of the 11th

FYP and is envisioned to

be 30% by 2020 (UGC 12th

FYP 2012-17).

The 11th plan witnessed a major thrust on expansion of higher education. The target

GER of the 11th plan was set at 15%. However, estimates of the GER already

achieved, varies from 13.5% to over 17% (UGC; UNESCO Digest, National Centre

for Educational Statistics, 2010).

The 12th plan has set a target to increase this GER by 10% so as to achieve a GER of

23.5% or 29% by end of 12th plan (2017). A target set by 2020 is to achieve a GER of

30 which will be above the present global average GER of 26%. This would require a

transformational change. The achievement of this aggressive GER target would be

greatly facilitated by encouraging private sector participation (E & Y EDGE Report,

2011).

Equity: On one hand GER stands low for the overall population, while on the other

hand there exists large variations among the various categories of population based on

gender, urban or rural habitation and rich and poor. Due to regional disparity in

economic development and uneven distribution of institutions of higher education, the

50

higher education is not equally available to the different sections of the society (UGC

12th

FYP 2012-17).

Caste-based Reservation: To overcome the deep rooted problem of social inequity,

successive governments have introduced caste based reservations in higher education.

At present the caste-based reservation is applicable in only government funded

institutions, which includes institutions of excellence and amount to approximately

49per cent of the total seats. Due to the cast based reservation, better talent coming

from non-reserved category is deprived of the admission in good institution, which

creates social unrest and used as a tool to make vote bank by the political parties

(UGC 12th

FYP 2012-17).

Quality: The higher educational institutions suffer from large quality variation in so

much so that a NASSCOM-McKinney Report-2005 has said that not more than 15per

cent of graduates of general education and 25-30per cent of Technical Education are

fit for employment. The various regulatory bodies regulating higher education have

constituted autonomous bodies for monitoring quality standards in the institutions

under their purview. For example, National Assessment and Accreditation Council

(NAAC) by UGC, National Board of Accreditation (NBA) by AICTE, Accreditation

Board (AB) by ICAR, Distance Education Council (DEC) etc. Though, there exists

autonomous bodies for assessment and monitoring quality standards in the institutions

of higher education they suffer from two major deficiencies. First, the quality norms

of such councils are not comparable with international standards. Secondly, the

enforcement process is not stringent. Further political interference and corruption

dilute the role and impact of these intuitions in ensuring the desired quality standards.

Cost of Education: Government funding on higher education has been diminishing

on a year on year basis for more than one decade. In the view of withdrawal of

government support to finance higher education private institutions have been allowed

to take over the responsibility of imparting education to all. Further, in government

aided universities the model of self-financing and self-sustaining institutions has been

introduced. All these developments have added to the cost of education significantly.

Though, the education loan has been made easy to facilitate higher education still the

terms and conditions imposed by banks in terms of guarantee and criteria of minimum

51

income of family restricts the talent coming from the poor families to go for higher

education (UGC 12th

FYP 2012-17)

Shortage of Teachers: Economic growth led by industrial and service sector during

the last decade has created more opportunities and faster career growth for the young

talent. Further, the lucrative salaries and glamour has acted as catalyst in attracting

talent to such fast growing sectors. Higher education in India which has been passing

through transition on account of privatization and withdrawal of financial support

from the government has been finding it difficult to attract adequate number of young

talent to teaching job. It is a big challenge for higher education sector to sustain in

future due to lack of availability of faculty (University Grants Commission, 2008).

Declining Enrolment in Traditional Fields of Knowledge: The changing economic

structure coupled with cultural transformation in terms of life style has lead to shift in

choice for studies. The major chunk from youth opts for professional courses leading

to early employment and faster growth. Therefore, the teaching and research in such

faculties is able to attract the best of the talent leaving only a few for fundamental

research in basic sciences, literature, art and languages. It, thus, poses the challenge to

the sustenance and the development of these basic pillars of knowledge (University

Grants Commission, 2008).

Red Tapism: It is an irony in India that the bureaucracy restricts the modernization

and expansion of higher education by private players intended to impart quality

education. At the same time a large number of institutions without having adequate

infrastructure and offering sub-standard education are not only surviving but

flourishing. Therefore, to develop a professional, transparent and efficient mechanism

to ensure expansion of quality education at a fast pace is greatly desirable (University

Grants Commission, 2008).

Vocationalisation at the First Degree Level: In conformity with the National Policy

on Education, 1986, a scheme to provide career orientation through education at the

first degree level was launched in 1994-95. Under the scheme, a university / college

could introduce one to three vocational courses in 35 identified subjects. As a result, a

52

number of job oriented programs lasting for approximately 6 months to one year have

been introduced in the colleges/ universities ((University Grants Commission, 2008)..

Autonomous Colleges: To keep up with the changes in higher education due to

globalization, institutions which has infrastructure and other facilities are given more

functional autonomy. The concept of Autonomous Colleges started in the 8th FYP

which targeted at that time that 10% of the total Colleges covered under Section 12B

would be awarded the Autonomous College status. Unfortunately, even after

completion of three Plan periods, the UGC could declare only 362 Colleges as

Autonomous Colleges till date. This requires review and renewed efforts to achieve

the target of 500 additional Autonomous Colleges during the 12th FYP. Another

quality promotion initiative among colleges is to upgrade the existing Autonomous

Colleges with 10 years of performance as Autonomous Colleges, as "Degree-

Awarding Colleges" as per the norms already evolved by the UGC. It is a good

initiative from government but needs to be promoted across the country (University

Grants Commission, 12th

FYP, 2011).

Privatization: In India both public and private institutions operate simultaneously. In

the year 2000-01, out of 13,072 higher education institutions, 42 per cent were

privately owned and run catering to 37 per cent of students enrolled into higher

education, that is, approximately 3.1 million out of total 8.4 million (Agarwal, 2006).

It is also likely that most of the growth in the rapidly expanding higher education

sector took place in private unaided colleges or in financing institutions. Since grant-

in-aid to private colleges is becoming difficult, many government funded institutions/

universities have granted recognition/ affiliation to unaided colleges and many

universities have authorized new ‗self-financing‘ courses even in government and

aided colleges. Approximately, 50 per cent of the higher education in India is

imparted through private institutions, mostly unaided involving high cost.

Global Competition: India being a signatory of WTO is bound to open up its market

for trade in services including education but it does not have a policy for

strengthening its education sector to compete with the education giants in the world.

Policy restrictions stop the competent institutions from making necessary changes in

the processes of admission, recruitment and salaries of faculty/ staff and opening

53

campuses abroad. In lack of proper policy provisions in time, higher education sector

in the country is adversely affected (Wallach, L, 2005).

In the 21st century, we stand poised between a collapsing past and uncertain future,

when established landmarks are disappearing and new ones have yet to appear. We

find the world facing both quantitative and qualitative changes – quantitative in terms

of economic growth and technological innovations, and qualitative in terms of a new

paradigm of an evolving society governed by altogether different values and ethos.

With the end of Cold War and the fall of communism, we are left with a world that is

more fluid, fragmented, and multi-polar than ever before. The process of trade

liberalization and privatization has also led to economic integration of markets at the

global level. Moreover, technological innovations in transport, information, and

communication have already led to the compression of the ‗economic‘ and ‗learning

space‘ (Gupta P V, 2004).

In the era of knowledge-driven economy and learning societies, both formal and

informal education is playing an increasingly vital role in promoting economic

solidarity, social cohesion, individual growth, sustainable development, and a culture

of peace and world citizenship. Whereas our views about the way we live, learn,

work, and ‗think about work‘ have changed, the acquisition of knowledge and skills

provided by a traditional formal educational setup do not correspond. Therefore, a

new paradigm must evolve that is developmental, human-centered, environmentally

sound, and all-inclusive, so as to prepare learners to be contributors to knowledge and

not just mere recipients of knowledge. It has opened up new challenges and

opportunities for higher education institutions – whether public, private, or hybrid.

Just a few years ago, we could not have imagined a university without classrooms, or

a library without books. Nor could we imagine a university existing 10,000 miles

away from its students. Or imagine technocrats rather than faculty and academic staff

managing sensitive information and knowledge ‗online‘. Yet all of this is true today.

Additionally, some university-owned firms, partly funded by the private sector, are

producing certain products for the educational market. A number of universities are

entering into contracts with private publishers. Similarly, a large number of private

54

enterprises are entering into agreements with various universities to meet their

technological and other requirements or to help them with the distribution of their

knowledge-based products. There are abundant examples of private booksellers, food

services, and providers of other services, academic and non-academic alike (Altbach

P G, 2004, pp68-84).

Given the increasingly corporate culture in higher education, it is not surprising that

‗education‘ has been included as a ‗service‘ or a ‗commodity‘ under the General

Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO).

Though UNESCO has been striving hard towards protecting and strengthening higher

education as a common good at the global level by promoting pluralism and diversity,

on the one hand, and equitable access, capacity building, and sharing of knowledge,

on the other, the GATS and WTO are striving equally hard towards reducing the

barriers to ‗trade‘ in higher education (Amin, M.M, 2008).

55

Five year plans: Thrust Areas on Higher Education Development:

a. First Five-Year Plan: 1951–1956 (Planning Commission of India, GoI, 1951-

1956):

The first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru resented the first five-year plan to

the Parliament of India on 8 December 1951. During the first five year plan, five

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were started as major technical institutions.

University Grant Commission (UGC) was set up to take care of funding and take

measures to strengthen the higher education in the country

b. Second Five-Year Plan: 1956–1961 (Planning Commission, Government of

India, Five Year Plans):

The second five-year plan focused on industry. The plan attempted to determine the

optimal allocation of investment between productive sectors in order to maximize

long-run economic growth. It used the prevalent state of art techniques of operations

research and optimization as well as the novel applications of statistical models

developed at the Indian Statistical Institute. The plan assumed a closed economy in

which the main trading activity would be centered on importing capital goods. The

Atomic Energy Commission was formed in 1958 with Homi J. Bhabha as the first

chairman. The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was established as a research

institute. In 1957 a talent search and scholarship program was begun to find talented

young students to train for work in nuclear power.

c. Third Five-Year Plan, 1961–1966 (Planning Commission, Government of India,

Five Year Plans):

During the third five year plan, many primary schools were started in rural areas. In

an effort to bring democracy to the grass root level, Panchyat Raj elections were

started and the states were given more development responsibilities. State electricity

boards and state secondary education boards were formed. States were made

responsible for secondary and higher education. In the Third Five Year Plan larger

facilities provided for diverting students to vocational and technological education.

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d. Fourth Five Year Plan: 1969-1974 (Planning Commission, Government of

India, Five Year Plans):

The enrolment in Arts, Science, Commerce and Law courses in universities and

colleges increased by 0.2 million during each of the First and Second Plans and by 0.5

million in the Third Plan. The additional enrolment in the Fourth Plan was about 1

million. Of this, 0.15 million students provided education through correspondence

courses, evening colleges and part-time classes. In providing for the additional

enrolment, emphasis was on rational location of institutions and on optimum

institutional size. So far, the correspondence courses were confined to humanities

only. During the Fourth Plan, the main emphasis was on consolidation and

improvement of higher education through the strengthening of staff and library and

laboratory facilities. Affiliated colleges which provide education to more than 88 per

cent of the university students were helped. Assistance for fuller development given

to a few colleges selected on the basis of their achievements, existing facilities and

potentialities.

e. Fifth Five Year Plan: 1974-1979 (Planning Commission, Government of India,

Five Year Plans):

Construction of academic buildings, library, staff quarters, teachers‘ hostel,

students‘ hostel, study homes, non-resident students‘ center;

Purchase of books, journals, equipment;

Appointment of additional teaching staff, technical supporting staff etc.

f. Sixth Five Year Plan: 1980-1985 (Planning Commission, Government of India,

Five Year Plans):

Improvement of standards;

Regulation of admission;

Restructuring of courses for practical orientation and greater

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Relevance;

Centralization of instrumentation and repair facilities;

Make extension as an integral part of education;

Low priority was given to expansion of educational facilities by way of new

universities, centers for postgraduate studies, new departments and to

construction/extension of buildings.

g. Seventh Five Year Plan: 1985-1990 (Planning Commission, Government of

India, Five Year Plans):

Creation of research and other centralized facilities at selected centers for the

benefit of a group of institutions in the region/country,

Encouragement of academic mobility and cross-fertilization of ideas with a

view to inculcating the feeling of national integration by providing special

assistance for faculty housing/complex and hostels,

Restructuring courses at first degree level so that they become relevant to the

local needs and environment and increase the area of employability of

graduates;

Prioritization of programs intended to achieve the national objectives;

Development of Centers of Excellence;

Optimization of use of the existing facilities in the universities/colleges

especially physical facilities.

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h. Period between 1989–1991 ((Planning Commission, Government of India, Five

Year Plans):

1989-91 was a period of political instability in India and hence no five year plan was

implemented. Between 1990 and 1992, there were only Annual Plans. It was the

beginning of privatization and liberalization in India.

i. Eighth Five Year Plan :1992-1997 ((Planning Commission, Government of

India, Five Year Plans):

Strengthening of existing postgraduate departments in terms of laboratories,

workshops and library services;

Opening of new specialized courses and departments, In case of developed,

with an inter-disciplinary approach provided they could be sustained by

existing facilities;

In case of developing universities, new departments and courses only if the

need is justified;

Viability of courses, departments etc. so that those courses that have lost their

relevance or are outdated could be dispensed with and teachers in such

subjects could be retrained.

j. Ninth Five Year Plan: 1997-2002 ((Planning Commission, Government of India,

Five Year Plans):

Career development by encouraging the relevant courses with professional

focus;

Modification in traditional courses to make them application oriented;

Encouragement to universities to develop basic theoretical understanding of

discipline to ensure that the theory and practice are blended and integrated;

59

Focus on hands on experience; and

Addressing the public concerns about downslide in the quality of education by

focusing on the quality of education rather than on quantitative expansion.

Access and Equity:

Paying special attention to institutions of higher education in backward areas, hill

areas and border areas in order to remove regional imbalances;

Addressing the higher education needs of under-represented social groups

including the SC/STs, women, handicapped and the minorities; and

Focus not only on quantitative expansion but also on qualitative development of

institutions of higher education in the areas catering to the above groups.

University and Social Change:

Encouragement to universities to develop a greater emphasis on non-degree

programs in order to meet the expectations arising out of changes that are taking

place in the society;

These activities to be made the responsibility of every department; while the

departments of adult and continuing education would be the focal point for social

change function and

Major thrust to be given to program development for women studies and centre

for women studies shall be essentially interdisciplinary.

Management of Education:

Support for streaming the university management system;

Assistance for academic, administrative and financial decentralization;

Autonomy of the Departments;

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Autonomy of the affiliated colleges & institutions;

Developing in-house training facilities for non-teaching staff, rationalization of

posts; increasing use of information technology in management; and

Establishment of College Development Council, workshops for college Principals,

and improvement in backward and forward linkages.

Resource Mobilization:

Focus on planning for internal and external resource mobilization;

Differential fee structure;

Enhancement in fees for foreign studies; and

Generation of revenue through increased university-industry linkages.

k. Tenth Five Year Plan: 2002-2007 ((Planning Commission, Government of India,

Five Year Plans):

The main objective in the Tenth Five Year Plan was to raise the enrolment in higher

education of the 18-23 year age group from the present 6 per cent to 10 per cent by

the end of the Plan period. The strategies focused on increasing access, quality,

adoption of state-specific strategies and the liberalization of the higher education

system. Emphasis has also laid on the relevance of the curriculum, vocationalization,

and networking on the use of information technology. The Plan focuses on distance

education, convergence of formal, non-formal, distance and IT education institutions,

increased private participation in the management of colleges and deemed to be

universities; research in frontier areas of knowledge and meeting challenges in the

area of Internationalization of Indian education.

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The UGC proposed to promote quality and relevance in higher education in the Tenth

Plan by initiating complementary skill-oriented courses. The career development of

students was promoted through courses with a professional focus. A major

programme of vocationalisation of education had already been initiated in 35 subjects

at the undergraduate level. In the Tenth Plan, new courses, including vocational

courses, relating emerging areas such as information technology, biotechnology,

biomedicine, genetic engineering, applied psychology, tourism and travel, physical

education and sports were introduced in more and more universities. The UGC had

been continuously updating curriculum and the process was completed in 30 subjects

in different disciplines. The Administrative Staff Colleges (ASCs) proved to be good

instruments for teacher training and orientation. Efforts were made to widen and

enhance the range and scope of ASCs and set up more ASCs to achieve a uniform

regional spread. Steps were taken from time to time for making accreditation of

institutions mandatory. State Governments played a pro-active role in the

accreditation process and helped NAAC in its efforts to sensitize the stakeholders.

The technical and management education sector has made immense contribution to

the country‘s economic and industrial development. It has produced high quality

skilled, technical and managerial manpower. The key issues in technical and

management education during the Tenth Plan was continuing focus on increasing

intake; quality of education, including research in technology. Other issues include:

faculty development; optimal utilization of resources through networking;

development of information technology education; modernization of the curriculum;

international benchmarking; developing capacity in new and emerging technology

areas; strategic planning and management of the technical education system and

developing the informal sector.

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l. XIth Five Year Plan: 2007-2012 ((Planning Commission, Government of India,

Five Year Plans):

The Eleventh Five Year Plan had the following objectives towards improvement of

Higher Education:

Expansion, inclusion and rapid movement in quality by enhancing public

spending, encouraging private initiatives and initiating the long overdue major

institutional and policy reforms, will form the core of the XI Plan effort.

Improve quality: work on a detailed reforms agenda including: a) admission,

curriculum and assessment; b) accreditation & ratings; c) teachers competence and

motivation; and d) restructure affiliated colleges and research for policy

formulation.

An apex Independent regulatory mechanism accompanied by greater autonomy

and internal accountability; establish a High level committee to suggest specific

Reforms.

Quantitative Expansion through establishment of new government and private

funded institutions and increased intake in existing institutions.

Reduce disparities based on gender, caste, region etc. through differential support.

Establish 30 new Central Universities, 16 in States where they do not exist and 14

as World Class Universities (all India admissions, course credits, regular syllabi

revision, Incentives for faculty, strong linkage with industry and research

institutions, no affiliated colleges, outsource non-teaching functions).

Establish 8 new IITs, 7 new IIMs, 10 new NITs, 3 IISERs, 20 IIITs and 2 new

SPAs.

Provide flexibility to universities to raise fees accompanied by scholarships,

fellowships and student loans.

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Establish a National Science & Engineering Research Board for rejuvenation of

research in Universities.

Launch a national Mission in education through ICT coverage in all the

Universities and colleges; broadband connectivity through National Knowledge

Network and requisite nodes within institutions; to be implemented through an

Empowered Committee.

Revitalize and reform polytechnics through industry linkage and teacher

development, establish 210 community colleges and 700 polytechnics.

Strengthen Open Universities and reform statutory bodies, scale up SAKSHAT as

the education portal for 50 crore people.

M. XIIth

Five Year Plan: 2012-2017 (UGC Report XIIth FYP, 2012)

The 11th Plan witnessed a major thrust for expansion of higher education and

promotion of greater regional and social equity, with continued focus on achieving

quality, promoting excellence and supporting academic and institutional reforms. This

led to a quantum nine-fold jump in the funding for higher education that enabled

framing of many bold schemes for expansion with attention to equity and quality.

This was a factor in an impressive overall growth in intake measured by the Gross

Enrolment Ratio (GER) during this period. Targets other than GER proved tougher to

achieve, partly because less than half of plan allocations translated into actual

sanctions and expenditure and partly because the system was not yet prepared to

receive, process and meaningfully utilize the new level of support. Yet the 11th Plan

laid the foundations for a new framework and vision for higher education based on the

challenges and opportunities enumerated above. The 12th

Plan, therefore needs to

build on this foundation and learn from the lessons of the 11th Plan. Specifically, it

would mean consolidating and qualitative and quantitative strengthening of the many

new initiatives of the previous Plan, fine-tuning many of the existing schemes in the

light of the experience, formulating some new and bold initiatives and revamping the

modalities for framing new schemes and funding them.

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The one big lesson being that the three challenges of expansion, equity and excellence

cannot be addressed in isolation from one another. A single-minded pursuit of

expansion can turn into chasing often meaningless statistics, exclusive focus on equity

could compromise quality and pursuit of excellence could be confined to a few

islands. The 12th

Plan needs a more coordinated and holistic approach.

The challenge of keeping pace with this expansion is not just about making room for

ever-higher numbers. This is also about directing these numbers in the right stream

and sectors, to the appropriate kind of institution and towards a judicious mix of the

various levels within higher education. Much of the expansion comes from, and much

more needs to come from, hitherto marginalized sections of society, backward regions

and villages. Redressing multiple and graded inequalities in higher education is not

just about increasing the GER among disadvantaged groups, notably the Muslims and

the STs. It is also about enhancing their presence in the centres of excellence, taking

care of their post-admission needs and redesigning courses to take into account their

requirements and knowledges. The challenge of excellences is not just about placing a

few institutions and individuals at par with given international norms of quality. It is

also about expanding the pool of institutions, scholars and students who can aspire to

excellence and redefining given standards themselves.

In this sense, India partakes the challenge of higher education all over the globe. An

unprecedented rise in the number of university students, their changing social profile,

rise of interconnected networks of knowledge facilitated by new technologies, greater

integration of world economy, increasing recognition of cultural plurality and the

emergence of new problems that defy existing solutions define the context of higher

education all over the globe. In the coming decades, India can play a major role in

balancing the fast growing global demographic skew due to an increasing

preponderance of an aging population, and can emerge not just as a knowledge

creating country but also as knowledge provider. This context is pressing for a fresh

thinking on future university as a place for the generation and transmission of

knowledge and values. Such a rethinking needs to go beyond issues of design,

organization and resources of the future university and take on foundational questions

like what is knowledge, why do we need it, how we acquire it and what are the limits

65

to what we know. In responding to its own unique challenges, India can shape global

response to the much talked about 'crisis of higher education'.

Inclusive expansion:

Growth in numbers is the driving force of change in the field of higher education in

India. There are no signs of this growth slowing down; indeed there is every reason to

push it further, for the GER is still well below the level that could be considered

adequate or comparable to countries at similar level of economic development. The

challenge of meeting this deficit is compounded by the fact the existing capacity is

distributed very unevenly: regional distribution of institutions is highly skewed across

and within states, enrollment in public institutions is concentrated in conventional

disciplines while private self-financed institutions tend to cater to market-oriented

courses.

Enrolment data from colleges and universities and the NSS based estimates offer

slightly different readings of the total number of students in the higher education

sector, but both attest to the fact that the number is increasing at the rate of about 6

per cent per annum. At the current rate of growth we should be planning for at least

one million additional students every year. Assuming this annual growth, the student

body will grow one and a half time by the end of the 12th plan. Given the need to

push expansion at higher rate and special measures to enhance intake in backward

regions and disadvantaged social groups, it would be appropriate to plan for about one

crore additional students (or 40 lakh additional seats, assuming an average two and a

half year cycle for an average student) by the end of the Plan period.

Approach:

Such a massive expansion would require immediate attention to consolidation and

better utilization of existing infrastructure in the colleges and universities. The

existing institutions need to be incentivized and required to increase their student

intake capacity. At the same time such an expansion cannot take place only within the

existing institutions or with public sector funds. There is a need to create new

institutions at a large scale and allow for a significant role for communities and

private sector to meet this deficit. It is vital that this expansion should be inclusive, so

that the additional capacity is created where it is needed most. This would mean that

66

the creation of new institutions should be focused in states, regions and districts where

student enrolment and institutional density is lower than national average. Instead of

spreading additional capacity across the board, there is a need to focus on select

streams and programmes where the current capacity is particularly low. There needs

to evolved suitable models of collaboration where public purpose and resource can be

synergized with private philanthropy, commitment and energy to create new

institutions that help to redress the sectoral, regional or social skews in higher

education.

A key measure of inclusive expansion will be significant increase in vocational

education through new polytechnics, new community colleges and vocational study

provisions within the existing universities. This would involve education for

livelihood through skill development, by de-emphasizing on degrees, and would serve

disadvantaged sections. These initiatives will not merely duplicate existing mores but

create new pedagogical practices and respond to a different set of needs. Through a

range of transferable credit-based courses leading to certificate, diploma and associate

degrees, this would also bridge the gap between secondary and higher education.

Some of the major initiatives for inclusive expansion could be brought under an

umbrella programme, Rashtriya Uchcha Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) that would

involve:

Up-gradation of Autonomous and A rated colleges into universities;

Increasing the intake capacity of existing higher education institutions;

Encouraging existing universities to start undergraduate programmmes or

integrated UG-PG programme; and

Creation of small, affiliating College Cluster Universities at the regional level.

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Other initiatives include:

Substantial enhancement in the level of support to the state universities;

Funding reforms to enlarge the pool of institutions eligible for UGC support and

introduce norm-based funding;

Creation of new model colleges in low-GER, high ST and Minority Concentration

Districts;

Special schemes for expansion of women‘s colleges and, in some cases, women‘s

universities;

Support for establishment of new, fully funded colleges, especially constituent

colleges, with a special focus on backward states and regions;

Creation of large number of fully-funded Polytechnics, Vocational Studies

Departments/Colleges within existing universities and partially (student based)

funded Community Colleges that impart vocational education; and

Schemes to invite and incentivize non-profit private organizations to open new

institutions in sectors and regions that are poorly served or addressing

communities that suffer severe under-representation in higher education.

Equal access to quality:

Access to higher educational opportunities continues to bear the stamp of multiple

dimensions of inequalities that characterize our society: gender, caste, religion, class,

locality and disability. Social group wise GER data from the 64th round of NSS

confirms that the access to higher education for all the disadvantaged social groups is

substantially below the national average (17.2%): the participation of women (15.2%)

and OBCs (14.7%) as a whole was marginally below the national average; it was

substantially lower for SC (11.5%) and villagers (11.1%) and even lower for Muslims

(9.5%), ST (7.7%) and the poor, those in the lowest two quintiles of income

distribution (9.1% and 5.1% respectively).

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The 12th plan could aim at a quantum jump and qualitative shift in the nature and

level of student support for higher education as a mark of recognition that this

measure would help expansion, equity and excellence. Currently the scholarship

schemes suffer from many flaws: they serve a tiny proportion of the student

population, the amount of scholarship offered to a student is a small fraction of her

costs and rapidly falls in real value; there are very few scholarships for undergraduate

and post-graduate studies; there are just too many schemes with small number of

fellowships, scholarship continues to be the principal mode of student support leaving

other instruments.

Another major step would be promotion of teaching-learning and knowledge

resources in Indian languages. Language is the link that connects access, equity and

quality dimensions of higher education. Regardless of the official ‗medium of

instruction‘, in actual practice, the majority of Indian universities do most of their

work in Indian languages and not in English. This is true of both the teaching

activities of faculty and specially the learning activities of students. Boosting the

capabilities of Indian languages is therefore the most cost-effective, synergy-inducing

and sustainable intervention for raising the quality of higher education. Since it has

the additional merit of equalizing opportunities, it lies at the intersection of the equity

and the quality dimension. This critical feature of higher education has received little

attention from policy makers, and the rare initiatives of academics have lacked weight

and staying power.

The initiatives to promote equal access to quality education would include:

National Equal Opportunity for Higher Education Fund could serve as an

umbrella to amalgamate and revamp all the existing schemes of student support

for various general and reserved categories so as to provide for the following: full

fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students, stipend, freeships,

vouchers, assistantships and educational loans;

69

Targeted schemes to draw students from communities such as lower OBC,

Muslims, specially vulnerable SC (e.g. Musahar and communities traditionally

engaged in scavenging), particularly vulnerable Scheduled Tribes, or

nomadic/DNT communities;

Special scheme for higher education in Scheduled V areas with concentration of

ST population;

Recognizing the disadvantages of the students, especially girl students, from

rural background and providing them preferential opportunities in admissions

and financial support;

Linking of General category (non-reserved) student support to an Index of

Disadvantage that combines multiple dimensions of inequalities;

Bhasha: National mission on quality education in Indian languages: refurbishing

of institutions to promote Indian languages, schemes for creation of teaching-

learning material, incentives for teachers and support for Indian languages

publications;

Strengthening and improving of Equal Opportunity Cells and

SC/ST/OBC/minority cells;

Centralized monitoring of all equity related schemes; and

Incentives to institutions that take pro-active and innovative steps to address

equity concerns and linking of institutional funding with its performance on

diversity-index.

Deepening excellence:

Higher education is about promoting excellence in more ways than one: at individual

level is an instrument of upward mobility through cultivation of excellence, for

national economy excellence of work force is a pre-requisite of sustained growth and

for humankind excellence is a must for extending the frontiers of knowledge and

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cultivation of values. Deepening of excellence requires simultaneous and multi-

dimension effort at improving the quality of higher education: generous support for

individuals and institutions who work at the highest level and on the frontiers of

knowledge, measures to uplift the quality of teaching-learning in an average

institution and support for attempts to redefine relevant knowledge in keeping with

our context.

Higher education in India suffers from quality deficit in all these respects. Very few

Indian institutions have global recognition in terms of being centres of excellence in

their field. It is essential that these islands of excellence be nourished and if possible

expanded. There is a need to ensure that in widening the base of higher education, the

apex must not be allowed to slip down.

At the same time, it is erroneous to focus exclusively on these islands of excellence in

order to raise levels of excellence in the system. The burden of public policy should

be on deepening this excellence to other institutions with some potential which can be

supported to join this league. The toughest challenge of excellence lies in improving

the quality of teaching-learning in a majority of non-elite universities and colleges

which continue to admit but fail to do justice to an overwhelming proportion of our

talented students. Since most of these talented students do their secondary education

through Indian languages as the medium of instruction, and effectively depend on

these for higher education as well, creation of teaching-learning material in Indian

languages is a critical and long-neglected need for expanding the pool of excellence.

Since colleges enroll the vast majority of the students in higher education, promoting

a culture of excellence requires recognizing colleges as sites of creation and not just

dissemination of ideas. Research capacities need to be consciously developed in the

colleges. Colleges and their teachers should be encouraged and supported in taking up

research including generation of innovative teaching-learning material.

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Private Sector participation in Higher Education:

India is at a critical juncture today – on the one hand it is one of the fastest growing

economies, waiting to take its position as a global force. On the other hand, it faces

the challenge of leveraging its vast demographic potential by educating and training

over 130 million people in the age group of 18-23 years with skills and capabilities

relevant to the demands of a modern knowledge based economy. It is truly a daunting

task, one that we may not be able to accomplish without the participation of the

private sector (IDFC-SSKI India Research, 2009).

The Indian higher education system has emerged as one of the largest in the world,

with 14.6 million students enrolled in more than 31,000 institutions. However, it

continues to suffer from three fundamental challenges: access, equity and quality. The

Government has set a target of achieving 30% GER by 2020 and is in the process of

streamlining the regulatory framework to make higher education more accessible and

to improve the quality of education delivery (www.knowledgecommission.gov.in).

While the public sector has historically dominated the higher education landscape, the

role of the private sector has significantly increased over the last decade, with

majority of students currently enrolled in private institutions. This sector is seeing

exciting times with a lot of challenges in the offing. The Government has set in

motion comprehensive reforms of the education sector to completely restructure the

legal and regulatory environment of higher education. Several important bills relating

to accreditation, foreign universities, educational tribunals and unfair practices have

been introduced in the Parliament.

However, suspicion and mistrust of the private sector still remain deeply ingrained in

some policy makers and the academic circles in India. While there are many issues

that merit extensive debate, we are focusing on opportunities for participation by the

private sector.

72

Higher education in India is passing through a phase of unprecedented expansion,

marked by an explosion in the volume of students, a substantial expansion in the

number of institutions and a quantum jump in the level of public funding. The

enormity of the challenge of providing equal opportunities for quality higher

education to ever-growing number of students provides a historic opportunity for

correcting sectoral and social imbalances, reinvigorating institutions, crossing

international benchmarks of excellence and extending the frontiers of knowledge.

Rapid globalization, driven largely by technological advancements as well as the

inability of the educational system to appropriately educate and train this human

capital has opened up a plethora of new areas in education and training. Not

surprisingly, the private sector has responded faster by taking up these opportunities

than the government has. While the regulatory regime continues to be onerous,

prohibiting a for profit delivery of formal education and limiting foreign

collaboration, there has been rapid growth in innovative services to the formal and

informal education sectors delivered through legitimate for profit models (FICCI & E

& Y Report, 2011).

The private sector has played an important role in the growth of the higher education

sector, especially in professional disciplines such as engineering and management.

High potential demands for higher education and insufficient government spend on

capacity creation are expected to result in a substantial infrastructure and investment

deficit. In this backdrop, the role of the private sector has assumed an increased

significance with immense opportunity for private sector players.

To enable private sector participation in higher education, the Government should

consider simplifying the regulatory framework by rationalizing the number of

regulators and providing more operational autonomy to private institutions, while

keeping a check on quality and transparency. Allowing institutions to operate on a for

profit basis could be considered for boosting private investment. Moreover, measures

to deal with structural challenges such as shortage of quality faculty and lack of

adequate physical infrastructure should be expedited (FICCI & E & Y Report, 2011).

73

A report released by PWC last year shows that the private spend in the regulated

market is 30,400 crores (USD 6.76 billion). In addition, the Government also spends

about 31,000 crores (USD 7 billion) per annum on higher education. This translates

into a total market size of nearly 61,000 crores (USD 13.8 billion) for higher

education in the country. Sizing the unregulated market is more challenging due to

absence of data. Based on discussions with industry experts and analysis, it is

estimated that the unregulated market size is 11,300 crores (USD 2.5 billion) for just

three services skill enhancement and vocational training; test preparation and

textbooks and content (PwC Report, 2010).

The Education Commission (Kothari Commission) set up in 1964 had recommended

that Government should spend at least 6% of its GDP on Education (PwC Report,

2010). However, in 40 years Indian has been able to achieve only half the target. The

National Knowledge Commission (NKC) also recommended an increase on at least

1.5% of GDP for Higher Education out of total of 6% on education overall

(www.knowledgecommission.gov.in).

In India, education and healthcare are treated as charitable activities. Educational

Institutes like Schools, Colleges, and Universities can only be run by charitable trusts

or societies & as ―not for profit‖. However, health care – though considered as

charitable activity can be run by hospitals set up as Private Limited Companies and

―for profit‖. There are corporates which are ‗for profit‘ companies entering education

by setting up foundation e.g. WIPRO, Kalyani, Infosys etc. (PwC Report, 2010).

Can an out of box thinking be considered of looking at formal educational institutions

as ―for profit‖ entities, however, through a regulated reasonable mechanism of

framework? However, the challenge to ensure quality across all institutions can be

met up with by ensuring mandatory accreditation of these institutions.

The Government can cap profits of such ‗for profit institutions‘ by allowing

reasonable rate of returns on investment through existing fee fixation Committees

appointed by State Governments. By allowing this, investors would not report to

illegitimate practices to siphon off their profits as what is happening in most private

74

institutions today and is ruining the image of overall private institutions, even the

good ones.

Restricting higher education to the not-for-profit sector has kept the large number of

institutions operating out of the tax net. While most operate entirely as not-for-profits,

there certainly are many that do extract profits. Allowing a ‗for profit‖ model will also

bring these profits under a tax net. An estimated potential tax loss to the government

is as high as Rs. 11, 00 corers (USD 244 million) per annum (FICCI & E & Y Report,

2011).

This revenue can be ploughed back by the Government to create more public higher

education institutions. Such for profit models will also encourage Private Public

Participation (PPP) in higher education.

There would be a lot of ideological opposition to this in a democratic process, but in

the present scenario of globalization, such out of box thinking needs to be attended to.

This will ensure private participation even from foreign universities.

A GER of 30 % or even more can be attained by the end of 12th plan without

compromising on quality (FICCI & E & Y Report, 2011).

Assuming that 50% of the new capacity to achieve a 15% GER is built in the private

for-profit segment, and that these new institutions operate at a 15% profit margin, an

additional 900 crores (USD 200 million) of tax revenue could potentially accrue to the

government each year. A for-profit system brings additional advantages. It would

result in greater competition in the education sector which would compel institutions

to lower fees, improve teaching quality, and use efficient technology as ways of

distinguishing themselves from the competition. It would also give greater power to

students and parents – as consumers and schools, as businesses, will have to cater to

their needs. Even for employees such as teachers, competition among educational

organizations could spell better payment terms, training facilities and employment

benefits. This is because the quality of teachers and education administrators will

determine the success or failure of an educational institution. Additionally, it would

75

attract not only better faculty but also better investors and entrepreneurs (PwC Report,

2010).

Given the resistance to an unfettered for-profit model, a possible via media would be

to cap the profits that a for-profit education institution can make. This is being done

very successfully in the electricity sector where the regulator allows a reasonable

return on investment while fixing tariffs. This can easily be done through the existing

fee fixation committees that have been set up in each state for technical education.

This would prevent excessive profiteering while providing private investors an

economic incentive to set up higher education institutions. The aim is not to make

public spending obsolete –rather to have it coexist with private investment.- The

Government should focus on promoting disciplines and setting up institutions in

remote and backward areas that have limited commercial potential and leave it to the

private sector to focus on the other areas.

There are a large and growing number of innovative services, provided mainly by the

private sector. These include professional skill enhancement, test preparation, text

books and content, other services and technology to higher education institutions or

their faculty members. As mentioned earlier, these services are, by and large, outside

the purview of the regulators though they do complement the existing higher

education system. Most of the organizations offering these services are for-profit

enterprises and operate successfully and legitimately (PwC Report, 2010).

International Scenario (Kevin Kinser 5, 2005):

As of 2005, out of about 9,000 postsecondary institutions in the U.S., nearly half were

for profit. Several prominent U.S.-based companies have a global presence in the

management of for-profit institutions, by establishing branch campuses in other

countries, purchasing existing institutions, or marketing distance education curricula

to an international audience. Roughly two-thirds of Brazil‘s private institutions are

now for-profit. . In Philippines, out of the 82% private enrollment, 47% students are

studying in for-profit institutions including a few large and many small institutions. In

Malaysia, 90 odd private higher education institutions are reportedly for-profit. In

South Africa, bulk of private higher education is legally for-profit, including more

than three-quarters of the registered private institutions. In Ukraine, all private

76

institutions (with about 16 of the country‘s total enrollment) are legally for-profit due

to general skepticism about private institutions and the corrupt potential of ―non-

profits‖. Several Gulf States also support for-profit education.

There is, therefore, a significant opportunity, for the private sector, to provide a range

of innovative training and assessment/certification services to supplement, or even, in

some cases replace, the formal education system. These opportunities can be

classified into the following categories:

Opportunities related to improving the employability of those coming out of the

formal educations system, by providing targeted training in specific vocations or

on specific skills.

Opportunities related to working with the large section of the population currently

outside the ambit of the formal higher education system, and providing this

section with specific vocational skills.

Opportunities to provide services to existing higher education institutions,

including their faculty, in order to enhance their effectiveness or efficiency

Public Private Partnership (PPP) in Higher Education (UGC 12th

FYP Report,

2011):

Over the last decade, Public Private Partnership has emerged as one of the most

effective models for developing and delivering public services. A range of models

have evolved over the years some successful like in roads, ports, airports, power and

some still developing in sectors like health, education, rural development etc.

A key reason for the success of PPPs in the infrastructure sector is that projects are

designed to be financially viable through varying mixes of cost recovery from users

and viability gap funding. However, the same principle may not apply in social

sectors like health & education as these services are generally provided for free or

way below market value or as per constitutional mandates.

77

PPPs in the education sector are still in a nascent stage. Constitutional provisions limit

the scope of PPP arrangements in elementary education. Provisions of ―The Right of

Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act‖ make it obligatory for the state to

provide free and compulsory education system for the age group six to 14. However,

there is greater flexibility in higher education with a wider range of opportunities and,

as discussed earlier, the private sector has evolved newer models of delivery of

services in the unregulated space and has established innovative solutions which

could be adapted for the regulated space of formal education.

To achieve a GER of 30 by 2020, the Government must encourage the private

participation in Higher Education. This can be done through the following ways:

1. Running universities/colleges through not for profit basis through charitable trust

and societies; this is the presently practiced model.

2. Through Private- Public Partnerships and there can be various ways of building

these partnerships. However not many successful examples can be cited, however

two examples i.e. PPP between Manipal University and Sikkim Government &

the PPP between Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies and Defense

Ministry, Government of India to impart post graduate management education to

defense personnel and their dependents.

3. Delivering educational services to students as a supplement to formal education

e.g. NIIT, Career launcher, however this is a non regulated sector.

4. Looking at a new approach of running formal educational institutions through a

for profit basis, something that is currently not allowed in India.

78

The Higher Education System in India and its Impact on the Economy

(Yeravdekar V, 2012):

The direct co-relation between higher education and human resource development is

an area of copious research. The two subjects have been studied from a variety of

standpoints; notable among them are skill development, productivity and

maximization of the potential for human resource development.

To say that an adequately evolved and broad-based higher education system is

indispensable to economic growth and nation building would be a truism. Capacity

building in the national context presupposes numerous resources—financial, natural

and more—not the least of which is the human resource. Developmental activities

require workforce which is skilled across the range in terms of extent: semi skilled,

skilled and specialized.

The Indian context:

The association between higher education and its impact on economy is of immense

importance to India. The country is positioned in a milieu which makes the two

variables inexorable—in more ways than one. In fact, the country‘s profile presents

itself as a prototype of the inevitable need to drive higher education forward, or else

face economic downfall.

It would not be far-fetched to claim that the Indian higher education system has

witnessed a metamorphosis of monumental proportions. It has burgeoned from an

instrument of colonial ascendancy, as was the case with other former colonies to a

system that aspires to be egalitarian and affirmative action oriented. It is imperative to

factor in the country‘s colonial history to grasp the larger landscape. Further, the

economy has had to emerge from being primarily agrarian to one that has a growing

industrial and service sector presence.

Powar K B (2012) argues that the co-relation between higher education and

employment is complex in the Indian context as a number of socio-economic and

79

technological variables are involved; having said that, the Indian economy boasts

unprecedented growth as well as one of the highest growth rates in the world.

Table 2: Year wise Indian GDP:

Year GDP, constant prices

1980 3.6

1985 4.8

1990 5.6

1995 7.3

2000 5.8

2005 9.0

2006 9.5

2007 9.9

2008 6.1

2009 6.7

2010 10.0

Source: IMF (as cited in

http://www.indexmundi.com/india/gdp_real_growth_rate.html)

In order to be conversant with the larger picture it helps to factor in that the Indian

higher education system and the economy have to grapple with a plethora of politico-

administrative and sociological shortfalls. It would not be fantastic to claim that the

two elements have evolved in spite of the system, and not because of it.

Chronological evolution of higher education and corresponding impact on the

Indian economy:

1. Independence era: the weight of colonialism hung heavily on the higher education

system as well as the economy. The higher education system was manifestly an

area of desertion and forsaking. In tandem, the economy was predominantly

agrarian; the industrial sector was limited to areas that were directly linked to

natural resources such as mining (Dreze. J. & Sen Amartya. 1998).

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2. Post independence: the decade post independence was characterized by Nehru‘s

strong socialist leanings coming perhaps from the strong sway of the Soviet

Union. The guiding idea was to promote industrialization through central

planning. The state invested heavily in higher education in techno-engineering.

The rewards of this investment did not come right away as it took years for HEIs

like the IITs to build capacity and generate the expected outcome of highly

specialized workforce. Nonetheless, the seeds were sowed and the significance of

specialized technical training was driven home. The state investment in higher

education was matched by investment in Public sector units (Dreze. J. & Sen

Amartya. 1998).

3. The ‗70s and ‗80s were marked by heavy-handed socio-democratic policy which

was characteristically protectionist. There wasn‘t much to write home about on the

higher education front. Unlike the preceding era, higher education was not an area

of priority, and the state investments were not as impressive as the Nehruvian

period. In this, India did not align itself with the Asian Tigers—the stronger

economies of Eastern Asian and South East Asian countries which took deliberate

steps to integrate with the West (Ministry of Human Resource Development,

1986).

4. Arguably, as a result of the above mentioned distancing from the globalization,

the country suffered economic downfall that was not short of a crisis situation.

The writing on the wall was loud and clear: globalize or perish.

The tendency of being insular ran parallel in the higher education realm too. While

countries like Brazil, Japan, UK and US moved away from liberal education in favor

of technical and professional education earlier on, India rose to the possibilities far

later. Powar K B (2012) states that in the year 2007-08, humanities/social sciences

accounted for 45% of the student population, engineering and technology only 7%

and medicine a meager 3%.

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India: prospects for emerging as a knowledge economy:

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh (2005) has optimistically forecast that the

21st Century will be the ―knowledge century‖, by which he refers to the socio-

economic transformation that the country is projected to go through in the 21st

century as a result of knowledge creation. Mattoo (2009) explicates the notion

succinctly: ―The whole idea of building a knowledge society is the idea of

empowering young men and women through education and ensuring that all our

delivery systems are built on the premise of the latest knowledge‖ (Bhatia and Dash,

2010, p. 46).

In the next few decades, India is speculated to have the world‘s largest set of young

people. While the correlation between higher education and nation building is

indisputable, the working age population can be an asset only if their potential

employability is brought to fruition. Conversely, if the state does not harness the

endowment, this demographic group can turn out to be a heavy economic and social

millstone.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Singh affirmed the Government‘s avowal thusly: ―the time

has come to create a second wave of institution building and of excellence in the field

of education, research and capability building so that we are better prepared for the

21st century‖. With the singular purpose of modeling recommendations and means to

tap into this reservoir, the Government founded the National Knowledge Commission

(NKC) in 2005. The raison d'être was expressed in the following declaration: ―our

demographic profile, with 550 million below the age of 25, has the potential to

constitute one-fourth of the global workforce by 2020‖ (Bhatia and Dash, 2010, p.

47).

The Commission aims to provide a channel to harness the country‘s vast human

capital, more specifically the demographic dividends that accrue from the working

age population. The decision to set up the Commission suggests the Government‘s

cognizance of the importance of developing the appropriate paradigm in which to

invest in intellectual capital by developing the skill set of the population and

encouraging research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

82

It is important to take note of the concern that no development scheme is complete

without plans that address inclusion and welfare of all the beneficiaries. The idea of a

knowledge economy is bogus without egalitarianism and welfare priorities; it is

imperative not to get carried away by the pockets of excellence in higher education—

IITs and IIMs, for instance. The sobering fact of the matter is that there is a latent

ongoing crisis in higher education; the proportion of the population in the age group

between 18 and 24 that enrolls in higher education is in the range of seven per cent—a

meager figure which is only one half of the average for Asia. This paucity is only

compounded with a corresponding shortfall in quality of higher education. Thus, we

infer that if the higher education system in India is to benefit the economy it has

to be revamped systemically so it can reach as wide a base as possible without

watering down the merit.

It is helpful to be mindful of the following key points and statistics:

Table 3: Higher Educational Institutions in India

No of institutions/enrolment Year (2010-11)

Universities 523

Colleges 33023

AICTE Technical Institutions 11809

Distance teaching Univ./Institutions 200

Enrolment in Univ. and Colleges (in lakhs) 169.75

Enrolment in Open Distance Learning (in lakhs) 37.45

Enrolment in post sec./post grad diploma (in lakhs) 18.56

AICTE approved technical programs 10364

Intake in AICTE approved technical programs (in lakhs) 26.15

Source: Annual Report (MHRD) 2011-12

83

1. The number of higher education institutions in India has seen more than 50 fold

growth in the last six and half decades.

2. On a sobering note, the GER figure is 18.2% for the year 2012 (Tharoor, FICCI,

2012). Further, it is inequitably distributed across gender, socio-economic and the

rural-urban divide.

3. The considerable majority of higher education institutions in the vocational and

professional sphere are privately owned and managed.

4. India boasts one of the most daunting distance education systems in the world—

14 open universities and 120 distance education institutions.

5. It is slated to be the most populous country by 2030. More relevant to the

discussion at hand is the fact that more than half its population is younger than 25.

6. In spite of the fact that the vast majority of the population falls in the workforce

bracket, the skill level of the man power is inadequate, resulting in markedly low

productivity.

7. Pivotal to the discussion is the paradox that a significantly large number of

graduates are unemployed or under-employed along with an acute shortage of

skilled workers in the knowledge-intensive industry.

8. Paucity of skill intensive education is compounded by a parallel dearth of soft-

skills. The outcome is workforce that is far from globally competitive. This was

acknowledged and addressed by the Government‘s eleventh five year plan.

It would be safe to infer that relevance and quality in higher education in India are

goals worth striving for.

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The Government of India initiatives to impact economy through higher

education:

The Government of India (GoI) has been wise in taking note of the gains we stand to

accrue from investing in higher education. The following list of initiatives undertaken

by the Government is by no means comprehensive; nonetheless it exemplifies the

scope and nature of endeavors that are underway.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) 12th

plan (www.ugc.ac.in):

An initiative of the University Grants Commission, the Plan is structured to remedy

the fundamental lapses in the Indian higher education system. The plan mandates that

those autonomous colleges that show promise will be identified as ―colleges with

potential for excellence‖ (CPE) and upgraded into universities. To this end, the UGC

has allotted over Rs 1, 84,740 crore.

The guiding idea is to ease the load of universities which are typically overburdened

in terms of limited budget and administration of more colleges and students than is

adequate. Parallel to the idea is the goal of greater autonomy to existing colleges and

universities. It does so in very concrete terms: universities are not to have more than

fifty affiliated colleges; further, the total enrollment is not to exceed 50,000 students.

The advancement of both state and central colleges to universities is firmly grounded

in tangible performance evaluation; the criteria are spelled out clearly enough to leave

little room for distortion and misrepresentation.

The other stipulations are definitively welfare and affirmative in principle. The Plan

mandates more funds for the singular goal of increasing enrolment so as to improve

the national gross enrollment ratio (GER). The amendment will make grants available

to 20,000 more government and government aided colleges. The funds are made

available with the larger aim of banding together these colleges into ―college cluster

universities‖.

The National Skill Development Corporation India, NSDC (www.nsdcindia.org):

The NSDC is remarkable in that it is a ―public-private partnership‖. It aims to

promote skill development by fostering vocational institutions. It operates through

advocacy and initiatives supported by the Government of India and industry

85

associations. The advocacy bit is carried out by ―sector skills councils‖ which help

identify skill development needs, and ―sector specific labor market information

system‖ which assist in the planning and delivery of training.

The Ministry of Human resource Development, MHRD (www.mhrd.gov.in):

The responsibility of furthering higher education in accordance with the guidelines

laid out by the Government lies with the MHRD at the end of the day. The MHRD

sponsored initiatives include projects such as the ―National Commission for Higher

Education and Research‖ (NCHER) and the ―Education Tribunals Bill 2010‖. The

Ministry has a division dedicated to working on initiatives to improve

internationalization of higher education. The International Cooperation Cell (ICC) is

responsible for projects related to institutional collaborations, quality assurance, and

scholarships and such. Among the noteworthy initiatives in international cooperation

are: India-US Higher Education Summit, Singh-Obama Knowledge Initiative, UK-

India Education and Research Initiative, and United States India Educational

Foundation; furthermore, there is a whole gamut of collaborative and leadership

programs under the aegis of UNESCO.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) initiatives in skill development

(www.cii.in):

The CII is credited with immense contribution to skills development in keeping with

the needs of Indian industries so as to further employability of the working

population. The CII also works to promote entrepreneurship and enterprise in the

country. It has launched its own ―Skills Development Initiative‖ in line with the

National Skills Development Agenda with the goal of skill-training a target of 500

million people by the year 2022.

Internationalization of Higher Education in India and its Impact on the

Economy:

The internationalization of higher education in India is fallout of the liberalization that

the country went through since the early nineties as part of a deliberate politico-

economic strategy by the State. This shift in stance took form hand in hand with an

ideological paradigm shift spawned by radical advancement in information

technology and media all over the world.

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The following three tables depict—in this order—the number of international students

in India, the geographic region that they come from and the top ten countries that

send the largest number of foreign students in India:

Table 4: Number of international students in India

Year 1990-

91

1992-

93

1994-

95

1996-

97

1998-

99

2000-

01

2002-

03

2004-

05

2006-

07

200

8-09

Students 12,899 12,767 11.888 5,841 5,323 6,896 7,756 13,267 18,391 21,7

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Table 5: Region wise international students in India

Source: Powar K B, 2012. Association of Indian Universities, p. 245)

Region 1990-91 1995-96 2000-01 2005-06 2008-09

Asia 5741 4831 3866 10493 16004

Africa 6318 4081 2964 2403 4193

N and S

America

263 309 327 654 614

Europe 173 127 179 206 304

Australasia 35 40 44 71 66

Miscellaneous 369 699 405 629 597

Total 12899 10087 7785 14456 21778

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Table 6: Country wise international students in India

Source: Dongaonkar and Negi (2009) p. 4

Politico-diplomatic ties:

The Government of India has expressly proclaimed its intent to take initiatives to strengthen

the presence of international students in India in the interest of public diplomacy (Agarwal

P, 2007). Internationalization of Indian universities has more to it than altruistic and

symbolic inspirations. From the political perspective, India‘s hegemonic position as the

provider of higher education in the region strengthens its overall diplomatic and

ambassadorial status.

Contribution to Regional development:

An interesting point here would be the extent to which the city or region where the

university base or headquarters are situated is a factor of internationalization of the

university. Whitaker A M (2004) discusses the symbiotic relationship between cities or

―cluster regions‖ and internationalization of universities and colleges. She argues that the

agglomeration of services and businesses go to play an important role in attracting

international students. The strength of international students, in turn encourages more

businesses and services. She describes these economies as ―knowledge-based economies‖.

The concentration of educated and skilled individuals leads to not only greater

Countries 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

Iran 1120 1264 2180 2669

Nepal 1352 1411 1728 1821

United Arab Emirate 1500 2034 1878 1560

Ethiopia 226 302 1033 1289

Sri Lanka 582 530 466 997

Afghanistan 35 65 422 976

Saudi Arabia 419 551 771 835

Bahrain 382 481 446 600

Kenya 418 523 621 592

Oman 646 505 608 548

Total 6680 7666 10153 11887

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entrepreneurship, but also research and development. Another outcome is that enterprises

resulting from these ―knowledge-based economies‖ are more competitive in the global

economy and more likely to result in consumer satisfaction.

Educational expertise as one of the many goods and services of export:

The discourse on the economic impact of internationalization of higher education would not

be conclusive without viewing it in the context of an economic model that contributes to

revenue generation just as well as other goods and services. The pivotal idea here is to

establish co-relationships between the two variables and measure quantifiable impact of one

on the other. In this backdrop, international higher education is the industry and inbound

international students are the industrial output. The following are commonly identified

economic outcomes associated with the inflow of international students:

1. Generation of employment and business

2. Strengthening of ancillary industries such as tourism

3. Expenses incurred: tuition and living expenses

The parallel growth of higher education and the economy in India: trends and facts:

“For India to maintain its economic growth in a global marketplace fueled by the knowledge

economy, it needs to nearly double its number of students in higher education by 2012.

Fifty-one percent of India’s population is under the age of 25. Without proper access to

education the country’s demographic dividend could turn into a demographic disaster”.

(Dukkipati U, 2010)

In discussing the myriad ways in which higher education contributes to economic

development in India, Tilak J (2007) lists the following: improving earnings, alleviating

absolute and relative poverty, influencing human development indicators such as infant

mortality, gender parity and life expectancy.

Dukkipati (2010) postulates that the Government of India expenditure on education, and

more specifically higher education does not correspond with the country‘s economic growth.

The author points out that in the year 1950, higher education expenditure as a proportion of

GNP was 0.19 percent and rose to 1 percent in 1980; however by the mid-1990s it fell to 0.4

percent. In this backdrop the author makes a case for increasing the budget expenditure. It is

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also argued that given the limited national and state resources for drawing on funds, the

budgetary support must be supplemented with foreign and private sources.

Table 7: Government of India expenditure on education

Year 1951-52 1960-51 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2004-05

Expenditure on

education as %

of GDP

0.67 1.56 2.31 3.12 4.12 4.40 3.54

Source: Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education in India (V Prakash, 2007)

Skill as the principle impetus for economic growth in India:

Dukkipati‘s (2010) contention that skill/knowledge has spurred economic growth in the

country is perhaps the most important line of reasoning in this discussion. The author argues

that unlike China and the ―Asian Tigers‖, India‘s economic growth has not been impelled by

manufacturing; instead, it is the skilled workforce that has allowed India to step up on the

economic ladder speedily. The author cites ICRIER to report that India boasts the world‘s

largest pool of techno-engineering talent; while India generates 400,000 engineers each year,

the US only 60,000! The crux of the author‘s argument is that to continue with this upward

trend—at the very least to sustain the current growth rate, the country‘s gross enrollment

ratio (GER) would have to increase from 12 to 20 percent by 2014.

As impressive as the phenomenal growth of higher education in India is, more concerted

efforts are required to keep the momentum going.

―According to ICRIER, in 1950, India had 263,000 students enrolled in 750 colleges, which

were affiliated with 30 universities. By 2005, the numbers had grown dramatically: 11

million students in 17,000 colleges affiliated with 230 universities. Another 10 million

students were enrolled in 6,500 vocational institutions. Despite this phenomenal growth,

India would have to nearly quadruple existing college seats and more than quadruple the

number of professors to achieve the 20 percent GER by 2014 cited in the Venture

Intelligence report‖ (Dukkipati, 2010).

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The neglect of research:

Dukkipati (2010) contends that the irrefutable association between research and higher

education has been ignored by the Indian Government. The author illustrates the case with

stark statistics: ―only 4 percent of research expenditure is made through universities. In the

United States the corresponding figure is 17 percent and in Germany it is 23 percent.

Moreover, India‘s higher education institutions are poorly connected to research centers.

China‘s investment in research manpower, estimated at 708 researchers per 1 million people,

is six times that of India‘s‖.

Gupta & Gupta (2012) uphold Dukkipati‘s contention about the Government‘s desertion of

research. The authors record that the Government expenditure on research and development

in science and technology as percentage of GDP was 0.8% during 2005-06 in India. By way

of comparison, the equivalent figure for Israel was 5%, Sweden (4%), Japan (3%), US (2.77)

and China (1.5%).

The relationship between GER and GDP in India:

Prakash (2007) draws attention to the direct correlation between ―gross enrolment rate‖

(GER) in higher education and the per capita GDP of a nation. He cites comparative GER

figures to drive home the point about the long way ahead for India:

―Considering the demand for higher education, the GER in India relative to many of the

developed countries is quite low (around 12 per cent) compared to the average of the

developing countries (13 per cent), the world (26.7 per cent) and the developed nations (57.7

per cent)‖.

He goes on to assert that if we are to stay true to our commitment to the avowed goal of

making our economy in the 21st century a ―knowledge economy‖, we ought to address the

growing demand for skilled manpower by aiming to increase the GER to the tune of 20%.

The author outlines that the Government has not been consistent in according importance to

the cause of boosting GER in higher education:

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―It is important to underline the fact that from the Second to the Sixth Five-Year Plan

period, higher education grew reasonably well with increasing attention coupled with rising

allocations of public resources. But from the Seventh Five-Year Plan onwards, higher

education did not receive the attention it deserved‖.

He aligns this discrepancy to the corresponding inconsistency in the growth of higher

education over the years; this has, in turn resulted in negatively impacting ―access, equity,

relevance and excellence‖ in higher education.

Table 8: Enrollment in higher education in India

Year 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2004-05

Enrolment

000

174 557 1956 2752 4925 8399 10481

Source: Agarwal P, 2006

Figure 1: Growth in institutions and Enrollment in higher education in India-

Source: UGC (2005) University Development in India: Basic Facts & Figures‘, New

Delhi & UGC (2006) ‗Annual Report: 2004-05‘, New Delhi.

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The author also points out that variation in higher education manifests itself not only

in the Government‘s allocation of funds but that it is also pronounced in other

spectrums such as demographic divides across gender, caste and religion, disparity in

the quality of education across institutions etc.

Concluding observation:

In conclusion, the Indian economy is impacted by its higher education in a systemic

manner. The two have shared a causal relationship since India‘s colonial past, and

have continued to evolve in a directly correlated fashion. The higher education system

contributes enormously to nation building given India‘s demographic make-up, the

lacunae that we have inherited from the British Raj as well as the plain fact of being a

developing economy. A cursory survey of chronological evolution of the two systems

reveals that insularity and parochialism have stunted our growth on both the fronts.

Thankfully, our failings have been driven home to the policy makers and the

Government has taken deliberate measures to reinvent ourselves as ―knowledge

economy‖—an apt expression that captures the leadership‘s cognizance of the

importance of the impact of higher education on economy.

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Higher Education System Globally:

During its thousand years existence, starting with the establishment of the first of the

modern Universities at Bologna, in 1088, the modern higher education system has

definitely evolved. Traditionally, higher education has been elitist in character and has

catered to the needs of select minority including priests, civil servants, lawyers. The

objective was to provide specific skills. During the Medieval Age1 emphasis was placed

on teaching of religion and liberal arts. With the advent of Industrial Revolution, science

and technology became important in the late 17th

and 18th

centuries. The early part of

20th

century saw the entry of ‗working class‘ into the higher education system which

slowly began to acquire a more open character. By the end of World War II, higher

education acquired an egalitarian character. There was an increased demand for

professional education as the knowledge force became an essential requirement for

national development. With advent of information and communication technology, there

was a paradigm shift in both education, philosophy and pedagogy (Pawar K B, 2012).

The importance of higher education was formally recognized perhaps for the first time in

1948 when the United Nations adopted the ‗Universal Declaration on Human Rights‟

(United Nations, 1948). It ordained that education should promote understanding,

tolerance, friendship amongst nations.

The World Bank (1994) in its document ‗Higher Education: The Lessons of Experience‘

states that higher education is of paramount importance for economic and social

1 The Middle Ages (adjectival forms: medieval, mediaeval, and mediæval) is the

period of European history encompassing the 5th to the 15th centuries, normally

marked from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (the end of Classical

Antiquity) until the beginning of the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the

periods which ushered in the Modern Era. The medieval period thus is the mid-time

of the traditional division of Western history into Classical, Medieval, and Modern

periods (See the titles of Watts Making of Polities Europe 1300–1500 or Epstein

Economic History of Later Medieval Europe 1000–1500 or the end date used in

Holmes (ed.) The Oxford History of Medieval Europe).

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development. Institutions of higher education have the responsibility for equipping

individuals with advanced knowledge and skills required for positions of responsibility

in government, business and the professions.

The preamble to the World declaration on higher education concluded the fact that

education is a fundamental pillar of human rights, democracy, sustainable development

and peace.

An academic revolution has taken place in higher education in the past half century

marked by transformations unprecedented in scope and diversity. Comprehending this

ongoing and dynamic process while being in the midst of it is not an easy task.

Arguably, the developments of the recent past are at least as dramatic as those in the

19th century when the research university evolved, first in Germany and then elsewhere

and fundamentally redesigned the nature of the university worldwide. The academic

changes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries are more extensive due to their global

nature and the number of institutions and people they affect (Spring J, 2008).

The United States was the first country to achieve mass higher education, with 40% of

the age cohort attending post-secondary education in 1960. While some developing

countries still educate fewer than 10 percent of the age group, almost all countries have

dramatically increased their participation rates. Western Europe and Japan experienced

rapid growth in the 1980s, followed by the developed countries of East Asia and Latin

American countries. China and India, currently the world's largest and third largest

academic systems respectively, have been growing rapidly and will continue to do

so(Spring J, 2008).

The United States of America has major plans for investment in higher education. The

United Kingdom has injected new dynamism in the higher education sector through

competition and incentives. China has undertaken comprehensive reforms in higher

education for over past two decades. Even countries like Pakistan have embarked upon

wide ranging systemic reforms (Agrawal P, 2009).

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In a globalized economy, the higher education sector has become a priority due to the

demand for skilled human resource. Globalization has caused an impact on higher

education, thereby necessitating highly skilled human resource to work on a global

platform. The Asian countries are investing in enhancing their higher education system

with the objective of building world class universities. Amongst these, China is

particularly focused on upgrading its present universities to become internationally

competitive research institutions in the coming decade. Even smaller countries like

Singapore, by partnering with some of the world class universities, are projecting

themselves as education hubs of Asia (Altbach, P.G.; Knight, J. 2007).

Globalization and higher education are linked to each other. On one hand we see

countries that, because of demographics, have a great demand for higher education than

the supply. In such situations students tend to go abroad for higher education. In

contrast, Europe for instance, because of its aging population, has a shortage of students,

therefore a strong trend exists Europe to absorb students from developing countries.

Secondly, the numbers and types of providers of higher education has also grown.

Countries like USA have a combination of public and private universities which are not

for profit. However, in Asia and Latin America, there has been an increase in number of

private for profit universities.

The third development is the emergence of innovative delivery methods of higher

educations. The traditional model was face to face learning which has been now largely

replaced by E-learning. So also, transnational education and cross border education has

gained prominence primarily because of the movement of people and programmes and

institutions across borders (Hans De Wit et al, 2008).

Identification of education as a service in the context of GATS of the World Trade

Organization (WTO) has thereby evidenced the importance of internationalization of

higher education.

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Internationalization of Higher Education :

Over the last two decades, globalization has impacted operations of various institutions

including academic institutions all over the world. Higher education institutions have

been both the agent and objects of globalization (Scott P E, 1998). International

mobility, global comparison, bench marking etc. has gained lot of importance in policy

making. Enders, J.; Fulton, O (2004), notes with surprise the amount of debate on global

phenomenon in higher education focusing on marketization, competition and

management in higher education. Some of the countries adopted institutional devolution,

quasi-market competition in the system and performance managed staffing to address the

global competition. The other countries have responded differently to the changes in

global environment. In the English-speaking world, international operations have

become the primary mode of development. In Europe, the negotiation of the common

higher education area and European Research Area has been the major development

leading to the emergence of global higher education environment. Global research

circuits have been wired into the rapidly developing higher education systems of China,

Singapore and Korea. India has not yet opened up the direct entry of foreign institutions

in education sector.

Internationalization in higher education is a phenomenon that has been defined in a wide

variety of ways whether pertaining to individual student outcomes, such as language

proficiency and intercultural competence, or to organizational strategies incorporating

processes, procedures, and strategies that enhance the international identity and activities

of an institution. In the last two decades, universities have increased attention towards

internationalization from institutionalization of mission, goals, and processes to tactical

programs, research initiatives, and study abroad activities across an organization (Davies

J L, 1992, pp.187-8). Universities are complex organizations made up of multiple

stakeholders with an array of expectations of their own and from others outside of the

organization. Today, U.S. university presidents, provosts, and deans are met with even

greater challenges in an environment of greater expectations by parents, students,

faculty, and staff and of higher tuition rates and diminishing funding from state and

federal constituencies. The focus for leaders continues to be on limited resource

allocation and the need to be creative in doing more with less support. These realities of

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maintaining balance of the budget can sometimes overshadow the need to expand certain

strategic initiatives including internationalization. However, new collaborations, new

knowledge, and available private funds related to strategic internationalization practices

can contribute to creative and innovative thinking to impact the bottom line (Altbach &

Knight, 2006).

Bartell (2003) stresses the implicit nature of organizations and the communities in which

they reside describing internationalization as a process-oriented framework articulated

by leaders and stakeholders specific to each environment. He defines it as an

―organizational adaptation‖ (p. 43), while globalization is defined as an ―advanced phase

in the evolving process of internationalization‖ (p. 47).

Phases of globalization are identified with distinguishing features – (1) a domestic,

ethnocentric perspective of market dominance; (2) a multi-domestic phase including

adapting strategies for each external market; (3) a multi-national phase where

corporations or higher educational institutions extend their human capital and

infrastructure to other countries; and (4) a global or transitional phase in which

organizations have developed far beyond domestic capacities with full manufacturing or

assemblies being abroad (pp. 46-7). Inherently, globalization is aligned with corporate

organizations and market conditions and therefore is also applied to higher education

initiatives. As an example, some institutional strategies for internationalization include

integrating key topics or cases in the curriculum, sending students and faculty abroad

while welcoming their international counterparts in the United States, and creating

satellite programs or building entire campuses abroad (Carnoy, M. & Rhoten, D, 2002).

Scholars highlight strategic commitment (institutional leadership and mission) and

tactical components (curriculum integration and study abroad), as well as development

phases necessary for university leaders to lead internationalization efforts with particular

emphasis on ―adapting‖ to meet the needs of stakeholders outside of the organization (in

this case, higher education institutions). Knight (1994) recommends organizing efforts

into four approaches:

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1.Activity: activities, programs, and services within international studies and other

areas (Arum & Van de Water, 1992); student and faculty exchanges, internships,

study abroad programs, to name a few (Schuerholz-Lehr (2007);

2. Competency: the development of new skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values that

contribute to competencies in students, faculty, and staff (Knight J, 1997);

3. Ethos: commitment and global awareness that defines a kind of philosophy that is

transcendent of the organization (Harari M, undated); and

4. Process of integrating international, intercultural dimension into teaching, research,

and service functions of the institution (Knight J, 1994). van der Wende‘s (1997)

definition focuses on a systematic effort where higher education ―responds to‖

challenges related to globalization of societies, economy, and labor markets.

Globalization, a key reality in the 21st century, has already profoundly influenced higher

education. Globalization as the reality shaped by an increasingly integrated world

economy, new information and communications technology (ICT), the emergence of an

international knowledge network, the role of the English language, and other forces

beyond the control of academic institutions. Internationalization is defined as the variety

of policies and programs that universities and governments implement to respond to

globalization. These typically include sending students to study abroad, setting up a

branch campus overseas, or engaging in some type of inter-institutional partnership.

Universities have always been affected by international trends and to a certain degree

operated within a broader international community of academic institutions, scholars,

and research. Yet, 21st century realities have magnified the importance of the global

context. The rise of English as the dominant language of scientific communication is

unprecedented. Information and communications technologies have created a universal

means of instantaneous contact and simplified scientific communication. At the same

time, these changes have helped to concentrate ownership of publishers, databases, and

other key resources in the hands of the strongest universities and some multinational

companies, located almost exclusively in the developed world.

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For some, the impact of globalization on higher education offers exciting new

opportunities for study and research no longer limited by national boundaries. For others

the trend represents an assault on national culture and autonomy. It is undoubtedly both.

At the very least, with 2.5 million students, countless scholars, degrees and universities

moving about the globe freely there is a pressing need for international cooperation and

agreements. But agreements on, for example, international benchmarks and standards to

properly evaluate unfamiliar foreign qualifications are not reached easily (Schuerholz-

Lehr, S, 2007.

Internationalization has been very prominent at regional and international level. The

Bologna Process and Lisbon Strategy in Europe are the clearest examples of

international engagement at this level, with the first drawing more than 40 countries into

a voluntary process of enabling a European Higher Education Area. This has become a

reference for similar efforts elsewhere in the world (ENLACES in Latin America,

development of a harmonization strategy in the African Union, Brisbane Communiqué

initiative launched by twenty-seven countries in the Asia-Pacific region, discussions by

ministers of education in South East Asia) (Mestenhauser, J. A. 2002).

The last decade has also seen a veritable explosion in numbers of programs and

institutions that are operating internationally. Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab

Emirates stand out as examples of countries that have boldly promoted

internationalization as a matter of national policies: they have recruited prestigious

foreign universities to establish local campuses, with the goal of expanding access for

the local student population and serving as higher education "hubs" for their regions. The

term education hub is being used by countries who are trying to build a critical mass of

local and foreign actors –including students, educational institutions, companies,

knowledge industries, science and technology centres – who, through interaction and in

some cases collocation, engage in education, training, knowledge production and

innovative initiatives (Knight Jane, 2011.) But for the world's poorest countries and

most resource-deprived institutions, the opportunities to engage internationally can be

extremely limited.

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Universities and academic systems themselves have developed many strategies to benefit

from the new global environment and attract international students. Some universities in

non-English-speaking countries have established degree programs in English to attract

students from other countries. Universities have established partnerships with academic

institutions in other countries in order to offer degree and different academic programs,

develop research projects, and collaborate in a variety of ways. Branch campuses, off-

shore academic programs, and franchising arrangements for academic degrees represent

only a few manifestations of such internationalization strategies.

International student mobility:

International student mobility is one of the most preliminary manifestations of

internationalization of higher education. Though it has existed for centuries, movement

of students across borders became numerically significant only after globalization in the

early 1990s. In 1990 there were 1.2 million international students worldwide. The

number rose to 1.8 million in 1999, over 2.5 million in 2004 (Lu et. al., 2005) and

3.3million in 2009 (IIE, 2009). It is estimated that this figure will double by 2015 and

probably be 8 million by 2025 (Bohm et al, 2004). About 60% of the international

students are from Asia mainly China (2.3million), India (1.8million), Japan and South

Korea.

In 2000-1 India sent out nearly 62,000 students while it received less than 8,000. By

2007-08 the number of outgoing students had increased to 15,000 while the incoming

numbered students less than 15,000. In 2010, the outgoing students numbered about

180,000. The US is the preference of Indian students. In 2010-11 there were 103, 895

Indian students in the US (Open Doors Report, 2010-11)

The mobility of international students involves two main trends. One consists of students

from Asia entering the major academic systems of North America, Western Europe, and

Australia. Countries like the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have adjusted visa

and immigration requirements to attract foreign students, motivated to a significant

degree by the desire to maintain economic competitiveness and realize financial gains by

enrolling large numbers of full fee-paying internationals. The other is within the

European Union as part of its various programs to encourage student mobility. Globally,

international student mobility largely reflects a South-North phenomenon.

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Globally, the percentage of the age cohort enrolled in tertiary education has grown from

19% in 2000 to 26% in 2007, with the most dramatic gains in upper middle and upper

income countries. There are some 150.6 million tertiary students globally, roughly a

53% increase over 2000. In low-income countries tertiary-level participation has

improved only marginally, from 5% in 2000 to 7% in 2007. Sub-Saharan Africa has the

lowest participation rate in the world (5%). In Latin America, enrolment is still less than

half that of high-income countries. Attendance entails significant private costs that

average 60% of GDP per capita. (Figure 1)

Figure 2: Tertiary gross enrolment ratio by geographical region, 2000 and 2007

Source: OECD Report on International Migration Outlook, 2011 http://www.wiso.uni-

hamburg.de/fileadmin/vwl/aussenhandel/internationalewirtschaftsbeziehungen/Hauptstu

dium/Migration/WiSe2011_12/oecd_2011.pdf .Last accessed on 1.11.2011

102

More than 2.5 million students are studying outside their home countries. Estimates

predict the rise to 7 million international students by 2020. One of the most visible

aspects of globalization is student mobility (Figure 2. The flow of international students

has been a reflection of national and institutional strategies but also the decisions of

individual students worldwide.

Figure 3: Number of internationally mobile students

by region of destination, 2000 and 2007

Source: OECD Report on International Migration Outlook, 2011 http://www.wiso.uni-

hamburg.de/fileadmin/vwl/aussenhandel/internationalewirtschaftsbeziehungen/Hauptstu

dium/Migration/WiSe2011_12/oecd_2011.pdf .Last accessed on 1.11.2011

103

According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), the number of globally mobile

students increased to 3.4 million students in 2009, up from 2.1 million students in 2002.

As Figure 3 shows, the four leading destination countries are: the U.S., the UK,

Australia, and Canada. Canada saw the highest percentage gains, with enrollments

increasing by 67% (from 52,650 in 2002 to 87,798 in 2009). Canada was followed by the

UK and Australia, which saw increase of 62% (from 227,273 to 368,968) and 43% (from

179,619 to 257,637) respectively (IIE Open Doors, 2011).

Although U.S. enrollment grew at a slower rate of 13% (from 582,996 to 660,581

students), it remained the leading destination in absolute numbers and enrolled

approximately one-fifth of all mobile students worldwide in 2009. The most recent data

from the Institute of International Education (IIE Open Doors 2011) showed an increase

of 4.7% (from 690,923 to 723,277) in international student enrollment in the 2010-11

academic year compared to the previous year (Rahul Choudaha, 2012).

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Despite the continued growth of international enrollments in U.S. postsecondary

education, the country‘s share of globally mobile students has been steadily declining

over the last decade. As noted above, the U.S. claimed 20% of the world‘s 3.4 million

international students in 2009. However, due to increased competition and the opening

of new markets, that share is in fact down from 27% in 2002—a worrisome trend. Factor

such as expenses, physical distance, visa complexities and competition from other

popular destinations have negatively impacted the country‘s ability to attract

international students. ((Rahul Choudaha, 2012).

Figure 4: Number and Percentage of International students

in Total Enrollment,, by Hosting Countries, 2002-2009

Source: Australia, UK, and U.S. data are retrieved from UNESCO Institute of

Statistics using ISCED 5& 6 standards. Due to missing data on Canada for 2009, we

used Statistics Canada from 2002-2009. Definitions of level of study are different in

the two data sources; therefore, difference may emerge.

Source Countries:

Currently, one in five of the world‘s international students are from either China or

India, with more than 700,000 tertiary-level students enrolled in a higher education

system outside their home country. In the U.S. alone, these two countries contributed

to 84% of all spikes in international student enrollment between 2000-01 and 2010-11

(IIE Open Doors 2011). While the number of Chinese students has increased at an

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astounding rate, the growth of Indian students has been displaying a counter-trend

over the last couple of years. Recent statistics by the U.S. Immigration and Customs

Enforcement (USICE) show that the number of active Chinese students on F-1 or M-1

visas at the Student and Exchange Visitor Approved Schools at the end of 2011

increased by about 28% to nearly 200,000 as compared to the previous year, whereas

the number of Indian students decreased by about 4% (Rahul Choudaha, 2012).

The most commonly cited reasons for increased mobility among Chinese students are

the growing supply of high school graduates whose families can afford a U.S.

education and the unmet demand for high quality education at home. By contrast,

enrollment growth among Indian students has slowed considerably, possibly due to

the residual effects of the U.S. economic recession given that nearly 60% of Indian

students enroll in Master‘s programs in engineering and computer Science. They are

highly concerned about the financial returns of their investment in education.

However, there are signs that the slowing trend is set to reverse. The number of

student visas issued to Indians in 2011 increased by 18% (from 39,958 in 2010 to

46,982 in 2011), suggesting renewed interest in U.S. educational opportunities. While

China and India are still too big to ignore, there are other emerging countries,

including Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. It is important that recruitment

efforts be cultivated not only for campus diversity but also as a de-risking strategy

(Rahul Choudaha, 2012).

According to an estimate, every year, nearly 750,000 Chinese and 400,000 Indian

students apply to higher education institutions around the world, indicating strong

aspirations of students from these two countries to study abroad. Top two source

countries for international students are China and India with 441,186 and 170,255

globally mobile students respectively in 2008.The key drivers of mobility of Chinese

and Indian students are quite similar. On the supply side, two key drivers are

increasing prosperity, which enables the ability to afford foreign education, and rapid

expansion of the system of higher education at the expense of quality. On the demand

side, two key drivers are universities‘ aggressive approach to recruiting students to

compensate for budget cuts and access to a wider range of recruitment channels and

service providers (Global Education Digest, UNESCO. 2010)

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Brazil and Saudi Arabia are especially important, due to the availability of full-freight

government scholarships, which minimizes the prospective students‘ dependency on

institutional grant and financial aid. As the 2011 USICE data show, Brazil recently

climbed to the list of top 10 countries supplying international students to the U.S.,

while Saudi Arabia became the fourth largest source country of active students,

increasing by nearly 50% compared to 2010 (see table 3)

Table 9: Change in total active students by country of origin, 2010 and 2011

One major shift in the enrollment pattern of international students is the growth of

enrollment at the bachelor‘s level. In 2010-11, nearly one-third of all international

students in the U.S. were enrolled at the bachelor‘s level (IIE Open Doors 2011).

Because international students enrolled at this level are typically self-funded, with

little institutional financial aid, they provide a longer stream of revenue versus the

master‘s programs (two years). As a result, some public institutions in the U.S. are

viewing this trend as part of the solution to current fiscal challenges and therefore

expanding recruitment efforts at the bachelor‘s level (Rahul Choudaha, Director of

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Research & Advisory Services at WES, New York, Trends in International Student

Mobility report, Feb 2012).

The accelerated pace of urbanization and economic development in Asia will result in

a larger number of households with higher purchasing power. The two heavyweights

— China and India —alone will see their aggregate urban consumption increase

seven-fold and six-fold, respectively, from 2005 to 2025.17 This changing landscape

indicates great opportunities for higher education institutions wishing to recruit self-

funded students. In 2004-05, only 8,299 Chinese students studied at the undergraduate

level, accounting for 14% of all Chinese degree-seeking students in the U.S. This

group became seven times larger by 2010-11, translating to a total of 56,976 Chinese

undergraduates who now make up 41% of all degree-seeking Chinese students in the

U.S (Rahul Choudaha, Director of Research & Advisory Services at WES, New York,

Trends in International Student Mobility report, Feb 2012).

Similar trends could be observed among students from Saudi Arabia: a total of 10,946

Saudi Arabian students pursued study at the undergraduate level in 2010-11, a nine-

fold increase from only 1,700 undergraduate students in 2004-05. This is largely

attributable to the Saudi Arabian government‘s commitment to sending students

abroad.

Cross Border Higher education:

The enormous challenge confronting higher education is how to make international

opportunities available to all equitably. The students and scholars most likely to take

advantage of the range of new opportunities in a globalized higher education

environment are typically the wealthiest or otherwise socially privileged. If current

trends of internationalization continue, the distribution of the world's wealth and talent

will be further skewed.

Inequality among national higher education systems as well as within countries has

increased in the past several decades. The academic world has always been characterized

by centers and peripheries. The strongest universities, usually because of their research

prowess and reputation for excellence, are seen as centers of excellence. African

universities for example, have found it extremely challenging and complex to find their

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footing on the global higher education stage - they barely register on world institutional

rankings and league tables and produce a tiny percentage of the world's research output.

There is growing tension around the center-periphery dynamic. Developing countries

often desire world-class universities on par with the traditional universities at "the

center". The rankings of academic institutions and degree programs add to this tension.

International rankings favour universities that use English as the main language of

instruction and research, have a large array of disciplines and programs and substantial

research funds from government or other sources. These rankings have methodological

problems but they are widely used and influential, and show no signs of disappearing.

The wealth of nations and universities plays a key role in determining the quality and

centrality of a university or academic system. This places developing countries at a

significant disadvantage, and puts special strains on most academic systems facing the

dilemma of expanded enrollment and the need to support top-quality research

universities.

In a globalized world, it is imperative that students, faculty and curriculum crosses the

national boundaries to cater to a much larger population of the world. Cross Border

Higher Education is therefore the need of the hour.

Cross border education refers to the movement of people, programs, providers,

knowledge, ideas, projects, values curriculum, providers and services across national

boundaries. One of the major developments of the last two decades (1990-2010) is the

institutionalization of the provision of higher education across national boundaries. This

has been referred to as Cross –Border Higher Education (CBHE), Transnational Higher

Education (TNHE or simply TNE), Borderless Higher Education (BHE) or Offshore

Higher Education (OHE).

Cross-Border Higher Education (CBHE) is “the higher education that takes place in

situations where the teacher, student, programme, institution / provider or course

materials cross national jurisdictional borders”. Trans National Education (TNE)

denotes “any teaching or learning activity in which students are in a different country

(the host country) to that in which the institution providing is based (home country). The

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situation requires national boundaries to be crossed by information about the education

and by staff and/or educational materials” (Gate, 1977)

Borderless Higher Education (BHE) is a term used extensively to indicate

“developments in (higher education), which cross, or have the potential to cross, the

traditional borders of higher education, whether geographic or conceptual” (CVCP &

HEFC, 2000).

Offshore (Higher) Education covers “a range of activities where the students remain in

their own country and educational services are brought to them” (Scott, G and H Scott,

2005).

The framework for Cross Border Higher Education, as presented here, is based on the

recognition by Knight (2003b, 2005, 2006) that in CBHE there is movement across

national borders of one or more of four components, namely, people, providers,

programmes and projects. Students, teachers and researchers move for academic

activities, the educational providers cross borders to establish physical or virtual

presence, academic programmes are sent across borders as response to agreement or

partnerships, and projects (educational services and research) are developed for

academic development and for promotion of research. As discussed in later section

cross-border provision may be made through collaborative venture, (academic

partnerships, twining programmes, articulation arrangements) branch or off-shore

campuses and distance education institutions (including virtual Universities).

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Table 10: Framework of Cross Border Higher Education

Components Activity / Programme / Institution

People

Students Formal degree, Articulation arrangements, Study

abroad, programmes Internships

Teachers

Researcher

Teaching assignments, sabbaticals

Research, consultancy

Programmes

Training Certificates and Diplomas

Study Formal degree / Joint degree / dual degree

Research Research leading to publications, patents

Distance Education Diplomas and Degrees through multi-media

Providers

Universities Branch campuses, Academic Partnerships

Companies

Open /virtual Universities

Training institutes, DE centres

Distributed classrooms

Projects

Academic Curriculum development

Capacity building

Research Collaborative research

Educational services Consultancy e-governance, e-learning

Source: Knight Jane, 2005, 2006.

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Generations of Cross Border Education CBHE (Knight J, 2011):

First Generation:

The movement of students and scholars around the world is nothing new; it has been

happening for centuries and can be labeled the first generation of academic mobility.

Second Generation:

Examples of cross border program mobility include twining and franchise programmes

and articulation arrangements, whereas branch campuses and virtual universities are

examples of cross border provider mobility.

Third Generation:

Education hubs are the latest development and constitute the third wave of cross border

education initiatives (Knight Jane, 2011).

However, the researcher defines 4 levels of Cross Border Higher Education

(CBHE):

First level – Student Mobility:

This is one of the earliest forms of Cross Border Higher Education. Students from one

country move to another country for higher education due to several reasons:

1. The number of HEIs in the home country are not enough to accommodate the

growing population of students.

2. The quality of HEIs in the home country is suspicious.

3. Students want to travel to another country to add value to their basic education.

4. Students move to another country to experience the culture of that country.

5. Students mobility may be enhanced due to the opportunities of employment

available in that country.

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Second level – Programme Mobility:

This is the second level of Cross Border Higher Education. Twining programmes,

Semester Abroad programmes, Joint Research programmes and even Summer Schools

of Universities in another country are examples of programme mobility. Faculty of a

University travels to another country and conducts a programme leading to diploma and

certificates by the parent University.

Third level – Branch Campuses:

A University from one country decides to open its branch campus in another country.

Universities like NYU, USA; Wollongong University, Australia; Manipal University,

India have opened their branch campuses in UAE. The main objective of the branch

campus is to provide higher education to the local population of that country.

Fourth level – Education Hubs:

Education hub is a ―conglomeration of educational institutions, research & development

centres, corporate houses of host and foreign countries in a particular area which may be

a city or a country‖

In this case, it is the strategy of a country to project itself as a Education hub. There is a

clearly laid out policy of the Government to attract foreign Universities to set up their

campuses. An area or city is projected as an education hub.

Singapore is a good example of this type of CBHE. Singapore has attracted some of the

top Universities of the world to set up campuses in Singapore. The objective is not only

to train the local students but also to attract the best talent – a way of Brain Gain. Some

countries have economic considerations in mind while projecting themselves as

education hub.

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Rationales for internationalization of higher education:

The question often posed by the traditionalists, distrustful of change, its: Why should we

internationalize? Knight and De Wit (1997) recognize four groups of rationale for the

internationalization of higher education – academic, socio-cultural, political and

economic.

Academic Rationale:

Internationalization of higher education has to be encouraged to increase the competency

of both individuals and institutions. Internationalization adds a new dimension to

learning and research activities in academic institutions. It is reflected in the broadening

of the curriculum, with the inclusion of topics that reflect the dynamics of global system.

International students often provide new insights and help develop new approaches in

the teaching learning process.

Socio- Cultural Rationale:

The Socio-cultural rationale reflects the changing social norms that recognize both the

need for greater integration and harmonization at the international level, and the desire to

preserve and spread national culture and identity. As Altbach (1995) points out, foreign

students, who are the principal manifestation of internationalization, are and embodiment

of cosmopolitan culture and provide valuable cross-cultural perspective. Further,

internationalization provides an opportunity to universities to give added meaning to

their social missions and opens for them additional ways of enrichment of their society

(Dale R, 2000)

Political Rationale:

The political rationale, has always been a strong force in the internationalization of

higher education. The main objective is to influence political thinking through the

indoctrination of future political leaders. For this purpose, in the first half of the

twentieth century, Britain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands replicated models of

higher education in their respective colonies. The United States and Russia tried to

influence young minds in much the same way when, flowing World War II, they

assumed the role of super-powers. India also joined the game in a small way, offering

places in its universities to students from the developing countries believing that these

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students would be the future leaders of their countries. However, with the end of the cold

war the political rationale has diminished in importance.

Economic Rationale:

The economic rationale is the potential for augmentation of financial resources of the

higher educational institutions through internationalization. The advent of free-market

economy, the massification of education and the need for greater resources have all

contributed to the economic rationale assuming an important role in the

internationalization of higher education.

Traditionally, the academic and socio-cultural rationales were dominant in imparting an

international dimension to higher education. In the twentieth century, and especially after

World War II, the political rationale gained ascendancy but, today, the driving

motivation for internationalization of higher education is economic.

Objectives of Internationalization (Powar K B, 2012):

Arising from the above discussion the principal objectives of internationalization may be

stated as follows:

Academic:

Provide students access to learning materials, methodologies and teachers of the

highest quality irrespective of national origin.

Give to students and exposure to international curricula, and to practices in other

systems of education

Prepare students for an international employment market by familiarizing them

with the dynamics of international sub-systems.

Raise the quality of education by competition and through efforts to achieve

international benchmarks.

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Make available to faculty and scholars research facilities of higher order through

collaborative arrangements with other universities.

In general, promote both capacity building and institution building.

Social –cultural:

Provide a cosmopolitan environment that promotes the understanding of different

cultures and languages.

Develop a holistic approach that helps in the acceptance of the viewpoints of the

other societies and thereby broaden the perception of individuals.

Provide an opportunity to universities to add an additional meaning to their social

mission.

Political:

Influence the thought-process of future, foreign leaders and decision makers.

Enable citizens of other countries to understand and appreciate the nation‘s

priorities, needs and actions.

Gain international goodwill and raise the country‘s profile abroad

Economic:

Secure revenue for institutions from tuition fees, and for the surrounding society

through the provision of services

Obtain funds from international agencies

Develop expertise related to international relations, trade and management.

Promote economic competitiveness

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Internationalization of Higher Education in India:

Higher Education in India has expanded many folds in last few decades. There were

only 20 Universities and 500 colleges with 0.1 million students in 1947. This has

increased to 611 Universities and University level institutions and 31,324 colleges as

on August 2011 (UGC FYP Report, 2011). The education providers include public

nonprofit, private nonprofit and private for-profit institutions and have a mixture of

public and private institutions. There is no boundary between public and private

institutions as many public universities now look for private financing and charge a

tuition or service charge. On the other hand, private institutions are eligible for public

funds and engage in social nonprofit actions.

The expansion of public universities has been slow and skewed at regional

distribution. Many Universities, managed by the state governments have many

affiliating colleges and academic matters are not properly managed. Thus despite

noticeable growth in number of state run universities there is not only a scope but

rather need for expansion in the number of institutions.

Since 1990, private higher education institutes have started emerging. These are

business houses that provide education programs or services for profit purposes. They

impart education and training programs than undertaking research and scholarly

pursuits. Examples of some of these new providers are Aptech and NIIT. These new

providers are either campus based or virtual universities and they coexist with

traditional education providers (Rani, Geetha, P, 2004).

Advantages of internationalization in India:

One should also take into consideration the fact that Indian education, especially

higher education, has always had an international dimension. During ancient times

there were centres of learning in India that attracted students and scholars from across

its international borders. Takshashila (now in Pakistan), established in 700 BC had

numerous international students studying subjects as varied as mathematics, medicine

and engineering. In the early part of the first millennium India had well-known

centres of education at Calando, Vallabhi, Vikramshila, Kanchipuram and Pataliputra

(Powar K B, 2012, PP 237 -240).

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Internationalization is a revolutionary development in Higher Education. The overall

demand for higher and adult education, and professionally related courses, is

increasing in most countries. There are several reasons for this: changing

demographics, the increased number of secondary school pass-outs, wish for

continual learning, and the growth of the information technology.

Higher education, in the 21st century, has been greatly influenced because of

globalization.

Globalization is a generic term and it can be defined in a number of different ways

depending on the context. The definition - description - given by Knight and de Wit

(1997) appears to be the best operational one for any discussion pertaining to higher

education in this context. According to them, Globalization ―is the flow of

technology, economy, knowledge, people, values, ideas…across the borders.

Globalization affects each country in a different way due to a nation‘s individual

history, traditions, culture and priorities.‖ To cope with the ‗Globalization‘, the

higher education system has to re-orient its structure and function besides enlarging

the scope of its provisions to meet the challenges of Globalization. This re-orientation

process is termed as Internationalization. Internationalization of Higher Education is

one of the ways a country responds to the demands of globalization.

UNESCO (2006) has given the following definition of internationalization of

education. “It is Higher education that takes place in situations where the teacher,

student, program, institution or provider and course materials cross-national

jurisdictional borders. Cross-border education may include higher education by

public or private and not-for-profit/ for-profit providers. It encompasses a wide range

of modalities in a continuum from face-to-face (taking various forms from students

traveling abroad and campuses abroad) to distance learning (using technologies and

including e-learning).”

Internationalization is therefore ‗a process of integrating an international perspective

into the education‘. It needs an institutional vision to motivate people to change the

whole to think globally and collaboratively. It is a way towards an ever-changing,

diverse external environment that focused on global environment.

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The Association of Indian Universities arranged a Round Table on

‗Internationalization of Indian Higher Education‘ at the University of Mysore. They

discussed the mechanisms to promote internationalization of Indian Higher Education

at select Indian universities. They adopted the following ‗Mysore Statement‘.

(International Association of Universities Newsletter, 2001). The Mysore Statement

contains:

Accepting that internationalization of higher education is a fact of life in the new

‗knowledge era‘,

Realizing that internationalization would lead to an improvement in the quality of

education.

Promote Indian culture abroad, produce understanding and yield financial

benefits,

Recognizing that partnership and networking are essential for to enrich the

teaching learning and to improve quality of research,

Believing that it is necessary to act in earnest immediately,

Resolved that the government, academic institutions and the Association of Indian

Universities take necessary steps to promote Indian higher education

internationally. After the deliberations, they recommended following actions to

the Government. They recommended following actions:

Take suitable action to promote Indian culture abroad. This needs setting up a

Committee for promoting Indian education abroad.

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Allow Indian Universities to open offshore campuses abroad. Amend the

University Grants Commission Act 1956 and the Acts of other statutory councils

to include a specific provision allowing universities to open offshore campuses

and export Indian education.

Simplify the procedures about registration, entry test need, issue of ‗No Objection

Certificate‘ and the issue and extension of visas.

Indian Embassies and High Commissions abroad must play a role in providing

information about higher education available in India. They should help in the

conduct of fairs, entrance examinations and student recruitment.

Frame an open-door policy for financing students.

They recommended creation of a central website to strengthen the information

base and spread of information.

Government and other statutory bodies‘ should grant greater autonomy and

flexibility to universities to admit foreign students and to enter collaborative

arrangements with foreign institutions.

Create a Task Force including representatives of different bodies like the

University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical education and

Medical Council of India for admitting students to different professional

programs.

The government should consider extending financing for international education.

This will enable institutions providing financial aid to Indian students going

abroad, to foreign students coming to India and to educational institutions wishing

to develop infrastructures for international education.

There should be a suitable means to watch the standard of education given by

foreign universities.

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The committee recommended following actions for considerations by Academic

Institutions:

Universities and other academic institutions that enroll large number of

international students must have enough facilities to provide needed environment.

Evaluate strengths in different disciplines of education and identify areas that

would attract international students at different levels.

Simplify the procedure for admitting international students.

Indian academic institutions should set up partnerships and develop networks with

foreign universities in both the developed and the developing countries.

It is better if academic environment of the partnering university is similar to that

of Indian universities.

Updating and internationalization of the curriculum will get highest priority.

Students from non-English speaking countries often have an inadequate

knowledge of the English language. Arrangement for conducting special English

classes for them is necessary.

Indian universities should develop special short-term programs for students from

developing countries who would like to visit India to learn more about its culture

and heritage, natural possessions, diversity, languages or indigenous technologies.

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Initiatives undertaken by policy makers in India to promote internationalization

of higher education:

The University Grants Commission identified internationalization of Indian higher

education as a thrust area, in 2003 (UGC, n.d.). It launched PIHEAD (Promotion of

Indian Higher Education Abroad) as a national initiative. Guidelines and action plan

were prepared by a committee called PIHEAD committee. The researcher was a

member of this committee. Regretfully though, the action plan did not get

implemented. Another committee was set up by UGC to prepare an action plan on

internationalization of Indian higher education (UGC, 2009). The researcher was a

member of this committee too.

An Inter Ministerial committee on the Welfare of Foreign Students was set up under

the directions of the Hon‘ble Prime Minister of India. The objective of the committee

was to work out measures for the welfare of foreign students studying in India,

examine difficulties faced by them regarding visa procedures, admission to

Universities, accommodation etc. Guidelines were issued to the various Government

departments like the MHA, UGC, FRO etc. The Indian Council of Cultural Relations

(ICCR) which is under the Ministry of External Affairs offers scholarships to

international students from developing countries. Over 1000 scholarships are offered

by ICCR for students from Afghanistan.

Globalization has triggered the need for internationalization of higher education in

India and therefore the Government of India has become proactive towards this fact.

The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations,

Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialization) Bill, 2007 is one

such initiative towards internationalization in India. This bill has not yet been

enacted by the Parliament.

Indian government is preparing to allow entry of foreign education providers in the

higher education system and about 50 foreign universities have evinced interest in

setting up campuses in India. The interested universities, mostly from the US, the UK

and Australia, have approached the ministry of human resource development. The

Foreign Education Providers Bill, a proposed legislation to allow entry of foreign

universities in India, is yet to be approved by Parliament. The proposed Bill is yet to

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be passed after being cleared by the Union Cabinet in February 2007. The bill is

applicable to deemed universities and private aided or unaided professional

educational institutions affiliated to a university. Further, it defines a ‗Foreign

Education Provider‘ as a university or an Institution accredited and established under

a foreign law and notified as an institution deemed to be a university by Central

Government. The Bill controls the Admission structure of both aided and unaided

professional educational institutions.

Foreign Education Providers will need to seek a status of a deemed university before

they can start operating in India and no foreign institution, which is not categorized as

a Foreign Education Provider, can operate in India. Currently foreign universities are

not allowed to offer degree courses in India, although it allows 100% foreign

investment in education sector. Now, nearly 150 foreign institutes offer courses with

Indian university under a twinning arrangement—part of the course in India, the

remaining abroad—that is allowed by the education department. A panel set up by the

government to draw up a reform road map for the higher education sector

recommended that only the top 200 foreign universities be allowed to enter the

country.

The foreign educational providers‘ bill has yet not seen the light of the day. However,

even today some of the foreign universities seek back door entry into the Indian soil

through collaborations with Indian institutions. It is seen that Indian institutions which

are not approved by statutory councils collaborate with some of the not so highly

recognized foreign universities and impart their degrees thereby cheating hundreds of

Indian students. To curb this, the UGC has come out with a recent regulation -

UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration

between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012.

Some of the provisions of these regulations for foreign education institutions are as

follows:

The FEI concerned shall have been ranked amongst the top 500 institutions in

the world by the Times Higher Education‘s World University ranking or the

Academic Ranking of World University (ARWU) published by Center for

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World –Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong, as per their latest

publication.

It shall have operative arrangements in India through Indian educational

institutions by way of collaboration.

The FEI offering programmes of study through collaborations / partnerships /

twining shall ensure that the programmes of study offered and imparted by it

in India are in conformity with the standards laid down by the respective

statuary regulatory body.

The Indian educational institutions shall have accreditation by NAAC with not

less than ‗A‘ Grade.

The MOU / agreement between the Indian and Foreign institutions will have

to be approved by the UGC.

Initiatives of cooperation between International and Indian HEIs:

a. The Erasmus Mundus Programme:

One of the most sought after funded programmes for students going to Europe is the

Erasmus Mundus Programme. The programme was conceived by the European

Commission in 2001 in an attempt to strengthen EU- third country cooperation in

higher education and entered into force on 20th January, 2004. This initiative was

complemented by the launch of the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window

in 2006, which offered scholarships to enhance student mobility between European

institutions and certain countries.

Since its inception in 2004, the Erasmus Mundus Programme has promoted European

universities as world class providers of higher education and encouraged international

students by offering EU- funded scholarships for European Masters courses (for non-

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EU nationals). After three years of implementation, 57 Erasmus Mundus consortia

were selected to offer joint masters courses (www.em-a.eu).

In aggregate, more than 2170 Indian students have been offered Erasmus Mundus

scholarships, and 1380 students were selected under the Erasmus Mundus programme

(Masters Course).

Statistics reveal that students from India received the maximum number of

scholarships since 2004, followed by China. The distribution of Indian students under

this programme reveals that students do not confine themselves to UK or Germany,

instead they choose universities in countries like Spain and Italy, though the

preference for business and engineering remains strong (Li, H, 2010). This implies

that Indian students may increasingly look at other opportunities within Europe,

provided they have the necessary financial assistance.

The focal institution of the researcher is a partner University in the Erasmus Mundus

Programme.

United Kingdom (UK): In recent years, UK has taken a number of steps to facilitate

student mobility and establish stronger academic ties with India. An example of this is

the UK - India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) which was launched by

the British Council in 2006, with the aim of promoting educational links between UK

and India. In the last five years, UKIERI has made significant progress and

established partnerships between universities, facilitated grants and enabled mobility

of students between India and UK. These include 182 UK-India partnerships

involving 600 institutions on higher education and research, schools, professional and

technical skills, and 55 individual awards for PhD students and scholarships and other

achievements (OECD, 2007).

An initiative by the UKIERI is the Study India Programme which has enabled 393

British students to visit India since 2006. In light of the success and increased scope

for more collaboration, the funding for this project has been extended for another five

years (2011-16) to comprehensively cover all areas of education in India. Over 20 UK

universities have also set up their regional offices in India and represent a

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combination of technical (Middlesex and Greenwich) and research oriented

universities (like Lancaster and Imperial College). Other universities with regional

offices include Leeds, Birmingham, Oxford and Brookes. These universities have

partnerships and work towards a establishing a long term relationship with India by

engaging in course tie-ups, faculty exchanges and research tie-ups, in addition to

student recruitment from India (NKC, 2008)

Germany: Germany has had a strong affiliation with India and has received a number

of Indian students since 2000. The German education system has been restructured

since 1998 to accommodate more international students, one of the major changes

being the phenomenal growth in English-taught programmes. In particular, there are

over a 1000 Masters courses offered in German universities today (OECD, 2007).

Germany has traditionally specialized in the field of engineering and science and

therefore seeks to attract Indian students mostly at the research level (such as

doctorate and post doctorate degrees) to enhance ongoing research activities. In this

regard, there have been exchange programmes initiated between German and Indian

institutions. An example of this is the exchange of scientists under the new youth

project titled Projektbezogenen Personenaustausch programme, undertaken jointly by

DAAD and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST). This resulted in

120 new collaborations and facilitated the visit of 600 Indian scientists to Germany

and 300 German scientists to India.

The DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst) is the German Academic

Exchange Programme and the representative body which disseminates information on

higher education in Germany. The DAAD has allotted €6 Million to develop relations

with India, €4 million of which was dedicated exclusively for the stock of Indian

students (Rahul Choudaha, 2012).

France: France has taken a number of steps to increase the inflow of Indian students.

In private universities, the tuition fees average around 8000 Euros (professional

business, management and engineering schools charge between 10,000 to 40,000

Euros every year), in addition to another 6000 Euros to cover living costs. Since

Indians usually opt for private universities (as public universities require strong

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command over French), the financial cost is an important consideration. To address

this issue, there are a variety of scholarships given by the French embassy and

companies, in addition to the Erasmus Mundus programme which offers scholarships.

France has also reduced the entry requirements to facilitate greater student flows. In

particular, a GRE score is not required for students who choose engineering and the

TOEFL score is also not mandatory, provided one has studied in an English-medium

institution. A statement of purpose, merit and recommendations are sufficient to apply

for this course (OECD, 2007).

A number of agreements have been signed between Indian and French colleges and

universities and the areas for cooperation include science and technology, literary and

linguistic studies, Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences.

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National & International Models of Internationalization of Higher

Education:

The researcher has studied some international and national models of

internationalization of higher education and has identified the focal institution of the

researcher as a near comprehensive model of internationalization of higher education

in India.

International Models:

Harvard University, USA (www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012):

Harvard established in 1636, is America‘s oldest institutes of higher learning, The

University had 9 students and a single master at the time of inception and today has

over 13,000 students and 2,000 faculties. It is consistently ranked amongst the top 3

Universities of the world by any global rankings. Though the thrust is on teaching and

high quality innovative research, President of Harvard Drew Faust who is an expert

on international business strategy is pushing the University to develop a coherent

approach to international engagement.

„An effective strategy on international fund raising will be developed by engaging the

tens of thousands of alumni living abroad…..said Lawrence Summers, the earlier

President of Harvard. He pledged that Harvard would exploit its global reach and

reputation to develop leaders and create knowledge that would serve the world

beyond the nation‘s borders. All Harvard under graduates would be enable to have an

international exposure before they graduated. Already intensely engaged globally, the

University became a hive of international activity. The Harvard summer school

developed ‗Summer Programs‘ aboard for under graduates led by Harvard faculty, to

accomplish the double goal of bringing students and faculty together in intense

interaction. The presence of international students on campus was celebrated (Journal

of Studies in International Education, 2007)

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Yale University, USA:

Academic Excellence is the most important single criteria for admissions to Yale‘s

programmes of study but in the graduate and professional schools, Yale continusely

looks for something more – for those elusive qualities of character that give young

men and women the potential to have an impact on the world, to make contributions

to the larger society through this scholarly and professional achievements and to work

and to encourage others to work for the betterment of the human condition.

Beyond these commitments Yale recognizes that leaders of the 21st century in

virtually every calling and profession, will operate in a global environment. To

prepare their students for leadership, the curriculum was focused increasingly on

international concerns, opportunities for students to study abroad and a focus on

strong international representation. The content of social science, law and business

courses at Yale are more international than what it was two decades ago. The

enrollment in foreign language courses is also high. There many international students

in the graduate programmes. Yale has also focused to send out Yale College students

to study abroad (Levin Richard, 2003)

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (http://www.ntu.edu.sg)

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research-intensive university with

globally acknowledged strengths in science and engineering. The university has roots

that go back to 1955 when Nanyang University was set up. Today, NTU has four

colleges with 12 schools, and four autonomous entities, the National Institute of

Education, the S Rajartnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of

Singapore, and the Singapore Centre of Environmental Life Sciences Engineering.

The NTU provides a high-quality global education to 33,000 undergraduate and

postgraduate students. The student body includes top scholars and international

Olympiad medalists from the region and beyond.

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Hailing from more than 90 countries, the university's 3,100-strong teaching and

research staff bring dynamic international perspectives and years of solid industry

experience.

The NTU is in the top 100 of the world‘s universities, according to the QS World

University Rankings 2010. This places it in the top 1% of universities globally. The

College of Engineering, the world‘s largest engineering college, has six schools

focused on technology and innovation and a research output among the top four in the

world. The College of Science, with award-winning faculty and world-class

laboratories, runs Singapore‘s only direct honours bachelor's degree programmes in

the biological, physical and mathematical sciences.

The Nanyang Business School is the first and only Singapore business school to be

ranked in the top 27 of the Financial Times Global MBA 2010 rankings. It is also one

of only three in Asia to be awarded both the EQUIS (European Quality Improvement

System) and AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business)

accreditations - international hallmarks of quality.

The University's academic and research programmes, with real-world relevance, have

reaped dividends in the form of strong support from major corporations and industry

leaders, in terms of both research funding and partnerships and global internship

opportunities for our students.

NTU's Undergraduate experience, offering a broad education in diverse disciplines,

including residential living and international experience, has also received external

endorsement for its holistic curriculum featuring a rich selection of majors and

minors.

NTU has five distinct programmes that allow students to study, do research and work

overseas. Among these are the Global Immersion Programme, with four different

work / study / research options with leading companies and partner-universities in

Asia, Europe and North America. Currently, 43% of undergraduates enjoy overseas

exposure, which helps them acquire a global mindset.

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In February 2010, NTU was globally ranked 8th out of 1,084 institutions that had

attracted the highest total citations to their papers published in Thomson Reuters-

indexed engineering journals, with 5,912 papers cited a total of 28,516 times.

A university for the world:

NTU‘s global reputation attracts faculty, students and partnerships from Asia, North

America, Europe and beyond.

Working with local and global organizations, NTU actively explores cross-

disciplinary solutions for the future. Among its academic partners are the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Cornell University and

Carnegie Mellon University in the US; Cambridge University and Technische

Universität München in Europe; and Peking University and Waseda University in

Asia. NTU works with many global industry and research leaders, and has developed

joint laboratories with Thales, Rolls-Royce, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Robert Bosch

and Toray Industries Inc.

In 2009, NTU led the formation of the Global Alliance of Technological Universities,

comprising seven top universities tackling societal issues through leading-edge

science and technology. The alliance harnesses the strengths of its members – the

California Institute of Technology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, Indian Institute of

Technology Bombay, NTU and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. NTU also contributes

to the global academic enterprise as a member of the ASEAN University Network,

Association of Commonwealth Universities, Association of Southeast Asian

Institutions of Higher Learning and World Educational Research Association.

Leibniz University, Germany (www.uni-hannover-de/en/internationales)

Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany is one of the oldest Universities in

Germany. It has well laid out strategy of internationalization. It attracts 4000 foreign

students which are amongst the 21000 of its own home students. There is a special

international office that caters to the needs of foreign students. The strategy on of

internationalization is supported by the Government. There are strong relationships

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between partner Universities e.g. in India, they have strong partnerships with Madras

University, Symbiosis International University and VIT. Faculty and student

exchange programmes are facilitated through such partnerships and are funded by the

German Government.

National Models: University of Delhi (http://www.du.ac.in/):

The University of Delhi is the premier university of the country and is known for its

high standards in teaching and research and attracts eminent scholars to its faculty. It

was established in 1922 as a unitary, teaching and residential university by an Act of

the then Central Legislative Assembly.

Ever since its inception, a strong commitment to excellence in teaching and research

has made the University of Delhi a role-model and path-setter for other universities in

the country. Its rich academic tradition has always attracted the most talented

students who later on went on to make important contributions to their society.

International Relations:

International students from various countries are attracted. Universities represent the

traditional source of knowledge in society. They provide an environment that

generates ideas, skills, and inventions, all components of knowledge. Universities

constantly face pressure to conform to the needs of society, however what makes

universities unique is their power to withstand times of change, and time after time,

reemerge as the key providers of knowledge.

Campuses once geographically bound to one physical place now have the opportunity

to expand and network between states, regions, and international locations. In

addition, technology enables professors and students access to a world of information

previously available only at high costs and over long periods of time. The desire for

education created by a population that continually seeks education, further supports

changes within the university. These forces continue to alter the structure of the

university in three ways, which includes changes to the structure of governance,

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expansion of campus networks, and enhancement of university community

partnerships.

The University of Delhi has for long been aware of its role in a larger international

academic community, and in pursuance of this, the University has been reaching out

to fraternal institutions in different parts of the world for collaborative programmes,

research networks, student exchanges and so on.

University of Pune (http://www.unipune.ac.in):

University of Pune, one of the premier universities in India, is positioned in the North-

western part of Pune city. It occupies an area of about 411 acres. It was established on

10th February, 1948 under the Poona University Act. The university houses 46

academic departments. It is popularly known as the 'Oxford of the East'. It has about

118 recognized research institutes and 269 affiliated colleges offering graduate and

under-graduate courses.

Established in 1948, the University has since become one of the leading centers for

research and teaching in the country. The 400 acre campus is located in the North

Western part of Pune. The placid environs and state of the art facilities provide it's

numerous students with an ideal atmosphere to pursue research in various areas of

Science, Arts, Commerce and Languages. The University houses 40 departments

which provide a wide array of academic programs. Though a young centre, the

University has made a significant impact in various areas of research and teaching,

and continues to strive for excellence.

The University attracts many foreign students due to its excellent facilities. It offers

good accommodation facility. There is a provision of hostel for international students.

International Student's Centre:

The University of Pune attracts a large number of International students from more

than 64 different nations not only for Undergraduate and Post Graduate courses, but

also for M.Phil. and Ph.D. programs. This Center assists the international student

community in acquiring information, arranges for their admission, and looks after

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their welfare. For more information please refer to the section for international

students.

Since its inception on Feb. 10, 1949, the University of Pune has striven to live up to

these ideals. We believe that the University is responsible not just for imparting

knowledge, but for locating knowledge in society; so as to build a better future. In

keeping with this, the University departments have introduced the credit system, so as

to facilitate transfer of credits at national and international levels.

With a view to assist international students, the University of Pune has established

International Students Centre in the University campus. University of Pune model for

Internationalization of Higher Education has these unique features

Single Window

Networking

Interfacing

Wireless connectivity

Innovation

Interaction

Multi / Interdisciplinary

Competitive and Affordable

In the age of globalization, University of Pune has set out to make its presence felt

globally through internationalization of its programmes and opening new avenues of

association for global student community.

With the approval of UGC and the Central Govt. University of Pune proposes to setup

Campus Abroad. A number of MOUs have been signed with leading Universities

whereby sharing of the facilities in the university and exchange of teachers and

students can be made possible.

Besides looking after admissions and eligibility, the Centre coordinates with ICCR,

Ministry of External Affairs, different embassies and consulates for various purposes

including the scholarships.

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Currently, over 14000 foreign students from over 99 countries are studying in Pune

University departments and colleges in almost all disciplines.

Symbiosis International University, SIU (www.siu.edu.in):

Symbiosis International Educational & Cultural Centre was founded in the year 1971

by Padma Bhushan Dr. S. B. Mujumdar, with the objective of promoting International

Understanding through Quality Education. The motto is ―Vasudhaiva

Kutumbakkam‖–the World is One Family.

Symbiosis is one of India's leading educational Institutions imparting quality

education for over 41 years. Symbiosis is a family of 43 institutions spread across 17

campuses in and around Pune, sister city of Mumbai, India's commercial capital. It is

host to over 30,000 Indian and over 3,000 international students from 75 different

countries.

These campuses epitomize the Symbiosis mission of ―Vasudhaiva Kutumbakkam‖ -

the world is one family and are a beehive of International students from all across the

globe.

By virtue of its academic excellence, the University Grants Commission (UGC),

Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India conferred upon Symbiosis the status of ―Deemed

University‖. Thereby Symbiosis International University (SIU) came into being in

May 2002.

Internationalization at the University:

The Symbiosis Centre for International Education (SCIE) was established to drive the

strategy of internationalization at Symbiosis International University. The Symbiosis

Centre for International Education (SCIE) provides leadership & support for the

University's efforts to internationalize the campus and the curricula.

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The mandate of Symbiosis Centre for International Education (SCIE) is to promote

Internationalization and streamline the processes relating to International Admissions

and International Initiatives and has two departments:

International Students‘ Admissions, Events & Support Services:

International Initiatives

International Students‟ Admissions, Events & Support Services:

Admissions of the International Students' are centralized for all the constituent

institutes of Symbiosis International University and routed through SCIE. The

procedure to apply for admissions at SCIE is designed taking into consideration the

requirements and difficulties faced by International Students. The online admission

procedure has made it accessible to each and every student to apply from different

parts of the world and in the comfort of their homes. The student needs to come to

India only when the application is shortlisted for a particular program chosen by the

student. Software has been tailor made to suit the admission procedure. The

application procedure is simplified in easy steps starting from the basic eligibility,

check of important documents to be submitted till the final payment, confirming the

admission. Through the system of online admissions students are also able to make all

their payments online and check the admission status online.

For these activities the University an ‗International Office‘ well manned with a staff

that is equipped to cater to the needs of international students.' International students

coming from non English speaking background are subjected to a test – IELA to

judge their English proficiency skills. Students with weak English skills are enrolled

in a foundation programme to train them in English language proficiency.

The hostel provides special accommodation for international students with a mandate

that they share room with Indian students for cross cultural exchange. Other support

services for international students include airport pick up, healthcare services, mentor

faculty, buddy system with Indian students, extracurricular activities like sports and

other cultural programmes etc.

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Foreigners' Registration Office:

Symbiosis Centre for International Education, in collaboration with the Police

Commissioner's Office has a single window option for all foreign students requiring

extension of residential permit and visa. A representative from the FRO visits every

week between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. All queries related to extension of residential

permit and visas are dealt through this office.

International students‟ council:

This is an elected body of representatives from every country, elected by all

international students studying at the University. The international students council is

responsible for arranging all events related to international students such as cultural

activities, Blood donation camps, sports tournaments, international students

convocation etc. Through such events, the council members develop leadership

qualities which in turn help them when they go back to their home countries. Every

year one international students who has shown leadership qualities as well as qualities

of compassion and brotherhood towards his peers, is awarded the ‗Best outgoing

international student of the year‘.

Cultural Activities:

Apart from all admission related activities, Symbiosis Centre for International

Education organizes a variety of cultural activities where international students of

Pune city are able to display their talents. Symbiosis Centre for International

Education is assisted in such activities by the International Students' Council. Over

the past year, some of the activities organized by Symbiosis Centre for International

Education are included:

International Students Day: every year 31st of July is celebrated by international

students from Pune city as their day. Students put up a variety of cultural programmes

including dramas, dances etc. An international food festival is organized by the

international students to display their country‘s cuisine. International students donate

blood on this day. They also visit an NGO as a mark of their feelings.

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International Students‘ Convocation: This is the most unique event organized by

Symbiosis for the benefit of international students. An event of this scale and

magnitude is not organized anywhere else in the country. Students graduating from

different universities all over the country are allowed to come and participate in this

ceremony. International students passing from various Universities in India cannot

wait until December for the convocation ceremony of the University. So, Symbiosis

organizes a special Convocation Ceremony for international students in the month of

June.

Other Events: To promote cultural exchange as well as secularism, festivals like Eid,

Diwali & Christmas are celebrated

Symbiosis Centre of Health Care (SCHC):

Healthcare services for all students and staff of the Symbiosis International University

are provided by the in-house health care centre of Symbiosis viz. Symbiosis Centre of

Health Care (SCHC). The SCHC takes care of the health care needs of the entire

‗Symbiosis Family‘ by providing preventive, curative and promotive health care

services. These include annual Health Check Up of students and staff, day care & Out

Patient Department (OPD) services, Health Education, Medical Insurance Scheme &

Promotive Health Care Programmes inclusive of a gymnasium, aerobics studio,

yogashala with meditation hall and a swimming pool. Recreational and Wellness

facilities are also promoted through the University Sports Board (USB) of SIU.

Regional Office of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR):

The regional office of ICCR, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, was

inaugurated on 2nd December 2007 at the Symbiosis University Campus. The ICCR

offers scholarships and fellowships to international students wishing to study in India.

There are over 1000 ICCR scholars in Pune city.

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International Initiatives:

Collaborations:

The Symbiosis Centre for International Education under the aegis of Symbiosis

International University has entered into International collaborations with Universities

in Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, U.K, and Japan. Symbiosis has partnered

with the International Universities to promote academic collaborations. The university

encourages student exchange, faculty exchange, joint research, dual degree program

through these collaborations. The SCIE strives for students to avail scholarship

programs for experiencing semester abroad.

Study India Program:

One of the unique initiatives of SIU is a ‗Study India Program‘. SCIE offers 2-4

weeks customized programs imparting international students and NRI/PIO children an

unparalleled opportunity to experience a combination of academics with diverse

cultural activities to give an insight into the Indian culture, Economy, Trade, Financial

sector, Politics, Mythology, Technological developments in India

The program is a blend of cultural events like workshops on Indian Music, Dance,

Warli Painting and Field visits to cultural heritage sites, NGO visits, rural experience,

cultural heritage walks. The students are exposed to Indian family values through

their stay with Indian families for a short period. This programme attracts students

from different countries like USA, UK, Germany, Singapore, Japan,

South Africa, Malaysia etc.

Student Exchange Program:

The SCIE under the aegis of Symbiosis International University encourages and

supports inward and outward student mobility through the collaborations with reputed

Universities around the globe. SCIE is responsible for matching the curricula and

checking the specific eligibility of the student applying for the semester exchange

program and monitors the progress of such students and ensures transfer of credits.

The outward and inward mobility helps in Symbiosis students to spend one semester

at an International University while on the other hand the students from the foreign

University spend a semester at Symbiosis to experience the academic, socio cultural

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aspects. SCIE tries to make the international students stay at Symbiosis an

unforgettable experience by assisting them throughout their stay by giving them

Orientation, looking after their course mappings, credit transfers, arranging buddies to

help them with daily routine matters.

Scholar-in-Residence Program:

This program is developed to share best academic practices, developing in-house

global competencies and international links by inviting academicians to teach and

conduct research at Symbiosis International University. The Scholar is given monthly

honorarium besides being provided the Symbiosis Guest House accommodation and

mess facilities available at Symbiosis.

The scholar will be provided with a working cubicle and can access all University

amenities including the library, gym, recreational facilities and participate in a range

of educational and social events. Some of the activities that could be undertaken by

the Scholar would be, conducting Guest lecturers/ workshops/Symposia, Participation

in teaching, Curriculum review and design, Development and evaluation of research,

Faculty development program/ faculty Seminar, Conceptualizing, contributing and

editing research journals/peer reviewing journals, joint paper presentations in

international conferences.

Global Immersion Program:

Under this initiative, the SIU Students get an opportunity to study abroad for a

semester at the University of their choice. The students can avail of the benefit of the

Floating credits which allows them to take inter-disciplinary courses of their choice at

the foreign University. The concept of Globalization emphasizes the importance of

the exposure of students at the Under Graduate level to experience and immerse with

the world beyond their own country and become truly global citizens.

Summer School:

The SIU students attend summer schools which usually last for 2 to 4 weeks in

duration and are normally held in spring or summer. The program facilitates visits by

students and faculty to learn about the business environment, meetings with business

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executives, Global issues, or any other topics, culture of the respective countries and

visits to various industrial and business establishments in the host country.

Faculty Exchange:

SIU is actively involved in sending Faculty to foreign Universities on short term. This

encourages the Faculty to get an opportunity to teach or conduct research for one

semester or an academic year at an overseas University.

Dual Degree Programs:

The University has Dual Degree Programs with Foreign Universities which enables

students from both the Universities to experience the academic and cultural diversities

of different countries.

Lecture Series:

SCIE organizes lectures by eminent faculties of International repute at different

institutes of Symbiosis. It works closely with MCCIA, CII, Visiting International

Faculty, Fulbright Scholars, Visitors at the Consulates and Embassies, other

associations like Alliance Française, DAAD, British Council, etc.

Chair Professors:

Symbiosis International University is actively pursuing the Chair Professors initiative

to recognize creativity, scholarly efforts and contribution of eminent persons from the

industry & field of social sciences .

Centre for European Studies:

Symbiosis International University has started a Centre for European Studies (CES)

under SCIE. The CES is planning some short and long term academic programs

dealing with political, economic, legal, historical or cultural dimensions of EU,

different aspects of EU institutions, policies, integration, etc. Besides these, Indo-

European business cooperation and collaborations, strategies of trade and marketing

and intercultural business communication are important components of the program in

European Studies.

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The objective is to equip the students with a critical view of the international affairs

and thus help create a global work force. ECS will help prepare the participants to

work in a national and international environment. The Centre runs a PG Diploma in

―German Translation and Intercultural Management" in collaboration with Max

Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai. This is a 10 month course having three trimesters which

focuses on translation techniques, intercultural communication, German and English

syntax. It also conducts modules on international business and marketing. A part of

this course (6 weeks) is conducted at the renowned school for translation studies of

Mainz University, Germany. Under this initiative the Symbiosis Law School offers a

Certificate Course in ―European Union Legal Studies‖ which draws tremendous

response from students as well as from the corporate sectors.

The SCIE is now striving to focus all the programs in other parts of the continent by

having specific Area Study Centres like European Area Study Centre, Asian Area

Study Centre and Americas with Australia and Canada Area Study Centre. This will

enable it to focus promotion of student & faculty exchanges, academic programs like

area specific studies, Joint Research activities.