Offshore campuses of Indian universities: Africa, Gulf nations, Thailand, Vietnam among potential destinations

African and Gulf countries, Thailand and Vietnam, are among the possible locations for Indian universities to establish their offshore campuses. The regulations for these campuses are ready and will be released in a month, said UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar. 

In an interview with PTI, Kumar said that several nations are coming forward to offer infrastructure to Indian universities looking to establish campuses overseas, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) will assist the institutions in choosing the nations where they can do so. 

"In India, we have a vast university environment. There are outstanding colleges in the central government, state government-funded universities, and private universities. We want to urge these universities to establish campuses in other countries. Some nations are providing the infrastructure for our universities to establish their campuses. 

We have countries with a large Indian diaspora who want our campuses to come and educate them," he explained. 

When asked about the nations that have expressed interest in hosting Indian universities, Kumar responded, 'several African countries.'

"African countries offer great potential for campuses development. The possibilities are enormous, and there is much interest in Thailand, Vietnam, and a few Gulf nations. Simply put, we don't currently have any enabling laws," he continued. 

Many Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have received requests to establish campuses in the Middle East and South Asian nations. While IIT Delhi is contemplating establishing a campus in the UAE, IIT Madras is looking into locations in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Tanzania. IIT sites are also planned in Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. 

"IITs are regarded as institutions of national importance; they function under IIT Council. It has its own set of laws and regulations under which it can establish its campuses. Some IITs are already working on it," he explained. 

Last month, the UGC announced that foreign universities could establish campuses in India for the first time and released draft regulations allowing these universities to set their own admission requirements, fee schedules, and repatriation policies. 

The final guidelines, which will consider stakeholders' input, will be released within a month, said Kumar.

Due to the potential benefits for our students, this UGC regulation allowing campuses of international educational institutions in India is hotly debated in our nation. The rules are currently being revised. We also spoke with several foreign university groups that came to the UGC; we circulated a draft and got an excellent feedback. We will be able to publish the final rules in another month or so, he predicted.  

The UGC amended its regulations in 2021, allowing Institutions of Eminence to establish campuses abroad after obtaining no objection certificates from the ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs.

(With inputs from PTI)

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• Indian universities
• M Jagadesh Kumar
• UGC