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The University Grants Commission (UGC) in a draft resolution has agreed to offer autonomy to universities on admission processes and fees, apart from permitting cash remittances to the parent university to pave way for the entry of foreign universities in India. Beyond a doubt, the entry of foreign universities will help to improve the standard of education in the country. It will also help to prevent flight of capital and brain drain as students and their guardians will definitely take advantage of the world-class facilities available in the country, which in turn will also help India to become economically rich in human resource.
But it’s not a complete win-win situation for the country as some important issues have to be resolved to maximise potential benefits. For example, the education scenario is unbalanced in India as a vast section of the population is devoid of quality primary education due to poverty, lack of facilities, etc. As a result, the benefits of higher education reach only a small section of the population. If the country is truly interested in improving the standard of education, it should first concentrate on the improvement of primary education, rather than focusing on foreign educational institutions opening campuses in India.
Further, the proposal to offer autonomy to foreign varsities in deciding fees should be re-examined as a large number of Indians struggle hard for their livelihood. In such a situation, educational institutions with high fee structures will remain out of reach of meritorious but poor students. As a Right to Education is a fundamental right, such a disparity definitely defeats the very purpose of foreign universities coming to India. The rich-poor divide should be wiped out from the education sector to achieve this goal. The divide will certainly become wider, if poor students cannot afford to study in reputed foreign universities with campuses in India. The divide has already started broadening as barring some reputed educational institutions, the shadow of the private sector looms large on medical, business and technical education, which are enrolling students who can pay hefty fees to achieve professional success. A careful re-examination of the accessibility of the entire education system is required to truly raise the standard of education in India.