Internationalisation of Higher Education in the Backdrop of NEP 2020

P. Bala Muralidhar

Abstract

The NEP 2020 was approved by the cabinet on June 29, 2020. With the Cabinet approving theNational Education Policy (NEP) 2020, thereby ushering in reforms in Indian education sector, themove has paved way for foreign universities to set up operations in India. According to the NEPpolicy document, selected universities from the top 100 universities will be facilitated to operate inIndia. An International Students Office at each institution hosting overseas students will also be setup. With a clear goal of making India a “global study destination”—the NEP has charted anambitious roadmap for making internationalisation of higher education a reality by 2030. There arepressing reasons behind the NEP’s strong pitch for opening up of India’s higher education sector tothe world. Firstly, despite having second largest higher education system in the world, none of its 990universities and 40,000 colleges figure in the World University Rankings. Further, the country ranksas low as 72 among 132 countries in the latest Global Talent Competitive Index which gaugescountry’s current ability to grow and attract talents. One of the key reasons for this is educationbureaucracy’s prolonged stranglehold over higher education system preventing innovation andexpansion of the sector. Secondly, with gross ratio enrolment over 26 percent and expected to growfurther (50 percent by 2035 as per NEP projection), India’s mammoth higher education sector isready for massification. Given the size and growth prospects, India has the potentials to emerge as atop destination for global universities. Thirdly, Top foreign universities would bring in capital, latesteducation technology, innovative pedagogy and facilitate institution mobility that is missing in India.Their mere presence let alone collaboration and partnerships can spur competition and innovationamong Indian universities. Fourthly, with shortage of high-quality educational institutions, there is asteady flight of quality students to foreign countries for higher degrees. In 2019 alone, some 750,000students went for abroad to pursue higher studies. On an average, students spend $15 billion per yearto earn these degrees. Therefore, by having top foreign institutions, students can obtain these degreesin the country at a much lower cost. Besides, there are some challenges in the Internationalisation ofIndian higher education. For a country like India, where the budget allocation per capita in highereducation has been diminishing due to the growing population in the tertiary age group, foreignplayers may be allowed to invest in the market to ensure capacity building and infrastructuraldevelopment. The feasibility can be justified, but a proper regulatory framework is essential. Thispaper tries to present the reasons behind the Internationalisation of Indian higher education in thebackdrop of NEP 2020 and to point out some challenges in the Internationalisation of Indian highereducation

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