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UGC reforms distance learning guidelines to enhance enrolment of foreign students

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In order to make it easier for overseas students to enrol at Indian universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) modified the rules for open and distance learning programmes and online programmes. Through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), this amendment will enable international students with expired passports to enrol in Indian universities. Prior to this, in order to enrol themselves in any Indian university, international students were required to submit their passports as proof of identity. As a result, several applications were turned down because they were either incomplete or had expired passports. However, this modification will only be relevant to foreign students who enrol themselves on the e-VidyaBharati Portal and are accepted by MEA. Such students will not be required to have a passport and may provide any form of “national Identity with Photograph” issued by their country in order to enrol. The Ministry of External Affairs launched the e-VidyaBharati programme to provide tele-education services to African countries. These services are provided free of cost. Moreover, the e-VidyaBharati (tele-education) project of the Ministry of External Affairs provides scholarships to African students. Over a five-year period, the organisation intends to provide at least 15,000 scholarships to African students. “The Second Amendment Regulations, 2022 changes the compulsory identifier ‘Passport’ for International students to ‘any national Identity with photograph’ of the country of residence for the admissions through MEA in UGC recognized/entitled Online Programmes.” said UGC Chairman Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar while speaking about the amendment. “This Amendment is expected to improve the number of enrolments of the international learners in online programmes through projects of the Ministry of External Affair,” he added.

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UGC to revise draft learning outcome norms to align with NSQF

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to make minor changes to the draft regulations, which, once adopted, will define the learning outcomes associated with each level of higher education qualification and allow for credit transfer across institutions and courses. Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, the chairperson of the UGC, said that the commission decided to revise the draft regulations, which were made public in January, to maintain equivalence with the country’s technical education guidelines. Simply said, the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF), which is currently being revised, establishes what a learner should know after completing a course, which can range from certificate programmes to PhDs. It also establishes the minimum credits required for a student to pass a course and advance to the next level. The qualifications were initially organised on a scale of five to ten in the draft NHEQF. “However, the above is not in tune with the NSQF in which the levels are organised from 4.5 to 8. Since UGC’s draft NHEQF has levels from 5 to 10 as explained above, it will create operational problems for the vertical and horizontal mobility of learning by prescribing the entry requirement for each qualification, prerequisites for lateral entry, and validation of prior learning outcomes achieved,” said Prof Kumar. As a result, the NHEQF will use the 4.5 to 8 scale, he stated. Prof Kumar added that the UGC will convene a series of meetings with university administrators beginning May 25 to discuss the plan to revise the draft. The updated scale was created in accordance with the proposed four-year undergraduate programme structure, which will provide students with several entry and exit choices, allowing them to earn anything from a certificate to a degree with research depending on how many semesters they complete. Source: Indian Express

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UGC begins outreach for tie-ups between Indian and foreign universities

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) has reached out to over 500 foreign universities throughout the US, UK, Europe, and East Asia as part of a massive push to increase collaborations between Indian and foreign higher education institutions. The commission currently plans to meet with the heads of foreign missions in India to discuss possible collaborations in accordance with the recently announced regulations on twinning, joint degree, and dual degree programmes, which will take effect in the academic year 2022-23. In April, the University Grants Commission (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Education Institutions to Offer Joint Degrees, Dual Degree, and Twinning Programmes) Regulations, 2022 were published. “We have also sent them (foreign institutions) a list of eligible Indian universities with whom MoUs can be signed. We have not written to any universities in China although some of their universities fulfil the eligibility criteria,” UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar told The Indian Express on Sunday. Foreign institutes interested in collaborating must be ranked in the top 1000 in the Times Higher Education or QS rankings. Indian universities that satisfy the same level or are ranked among the top 100 in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) or have a minimum NAAC score of 3.01 are eligible. Academic collaborations between Indian and foreign institutions in the higher education sector are one of the National Education Policy 2020’s core recommendations. Work is also being done to make it easier for prestigious Indian universities like IIT Delhi to open campuses abroad. Last December, a committee chaired by IIT council chairman Dr. K Radhakrishnan published its suggestions for the establishment of offshore campuses of Indian higher educational institutions. Another expert panel’s deliberations to attract prominent foreign universities to open campuses in India have also reached the “final stage,” according to Prof Kumar. “It will also reduce a part of the outflow of foreign exchange which stands at about $US 25 billion currently.”  Approximately 50,000 international students are now enrolled in Indian colleges, according to official estimates. Source: Indian Express

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