Open Access
P. Bala Muralidhar
- PG Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Prabhat Kumar College, , India
Abstract
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was approved by the cabinet on June 29, 2020. With the cabinet approving the NEP 2020, thereby ushering in reforms in the Indian education sector, the move has paved the way for foreign universities to set up operations in India. According to the NEP policy document, selected universities from the top 100 universities will be facilitated to operate in India. An International Students Office at each institution hosting overseas students will also be set up. With a clear goal of making India a “global study destination”, the NEP has charted an ambitious roadmap for making the internationalisation of higher education a reality by 2030. There are pressing reasons behind the NEP’s strong pitch for opening up India’s higher education sector to the world. Firstly, despite having the second largest higher education system in the world, none of its 990 universities and 40,000 colleges figures in the World University Rankings. Further, the country ranks as low as 72 among 132 countries in the latest Global Talent Competitive Index which gauges a country’s current ability to grow and attract talents. One of the key reasons for this is the education bureaucracy’s prolonged stranglehold over higher education systems preventing innovation and expansion of the sector. Secondly, with gross ratio enrolment is over 26 percent and expected to grow further (50 percent by 2035 as per NEP projection); India’s mammoth higher education sector is ready for massification. Given the size and growth prospects, India has the potential to emerge as a top destination for global universities. Thirdly, top foreign universities would bring in capital, the latest education technology, innovative pedagogy and facilitate institution mobility that is missing in India. Their mere presence let alone collaboration and partnerships can spur competition and innovation among Indian universities. Fourthly, with a shortage of high-quality educational institutions, there is a steady flight of quality students to foreign countries for higher degrees. In 2019 alone, some 750,000 students went abroad to pursue higher studies. On average, students spend $15 billion per year to earn these degrees. Therefore, by having top foreign institutions in India, students can obtain these degrees in the country at a much lower cost. Besides, there are some challenges in the internationalisation of Indian higher education. For a country like India, where the budget allocation per capita in higher education has been diminishing due to the growing population in the tertiary age group, foreign players may be allowed to invest in the market to ensure capacity building and infrastructural development. The feasibility can be justified, but a proper regulatory framework is essential. This paper tries to present the reasons behind the internationalisation of Indian higher education in the backdrop of NEP 2020 and points out some challenges in the internationalisation of Indian higher education.
Keywords: Challenges, higher education, internationalisation, NEP 2020.
[This article belongs to NOLEGEIN Journal of Business Ethics , Ethos & CSRw(njbeec)]
References
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NOLEGEIN Journal of Business Ethics , Ethos & CSRw
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Received | April 5, 2021 |
| Accepted | April 15, 2021 |
| Published | January 24, 2023 |