Foreign universities: The top-20 may not come, but others might

We talked to a few education experts and academicians who said that the best of the best (like an Oxford or a Harvard) may not be interested in opening up a physical campus in India, but beyond these institutes there can be some who would be interested in exploring the market.

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Global thinker and Padma Bhushan awardee Prof Jagdish Sheth (recently the Bengaluru-based IFIM B-school was named after him as the Jagdish Sheth School of Management) told FE that while the best institutes in the world may not be opening a campus in India anytime soon or ever, many among the top-100 in the world would be interested to come to India with a physical campus. “In Europe and the US, there are many institutes who want to explore the Indian market, and this step (by the UGC) makes it easier for them to set up a campus,” he said.

Ashish Rajpal, the founder of XSEED Education, said that opening our doors to global universities is a step in the right direction but we need to make sure that our primary and elementary kids have a solid foundation in learning to be easily accepted and welcomed into these universities. “When these global institutions do set up base in India, students who have a solid foundation in learning can have a competitive edge in securing admissions,” he said.

Prof Rishikesha T Krishnan, director, IIM Bangalore, had earlier told FE that most of the top-ranked universities of the world (top-20 or so) have a single campus policy. “They believe that to attract the best faculty and students, it makes sense to concentrate everything on one physical location,” he said. “But beyond the top 20, some might consider setting up a foreign campus as a practical way of expanding their footprint. So, in the top 20 to top 100, many might be interested (to set up a campus in India).”

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Narayanan Ramaswamy, national leader, Education & Skill Development, KPMG in India, said that it is a much-awaited and a positive decision by the regulators to allow foreign universities of repute to establish in India. “All these reputed universities go out of the way to get good students. India has been a constant source of very good students for these universities. More often than not, these universities are not able to accommodate all the good students who they had shortlisted in their main campus,” he said. “So, they would be looking for avenues in India where they can admit more students (with costs being much lower in India, they would have access to a wider set of good, aspiring students). I assume most of the progressive and genuine universities—who are looking at furthering quality education and research—would look at India to establish a campus, where they have the freedom to operate with their quality and standards.”