Foreign education regulatory bill- A ray of hope or despair

Abstract

The Foreign Education Regulatory Bill, introduced in the Parliament in 2010 by the Manmohan Singh Government was considered a milestone that would enhance choices, increase competition and benchmark quality - according to Kapil Sibal, the then HRD minister of India. The Bill still awaits its fate to be passed in the Parliament and create an upsurge in the quality of higher education in the country. India, which boasts of the largest youth population, giving it the power to elucidate itself to the highest ranks of prosperity –has to shoulder the responsibility to enlighten the path of its massive population. It has to qualify itself to be eligible to refract the course of its education system from the present subordinate levels to a much higher rank. Unfortunately the recent status of the Indian Higher Education sector is far behind its American, European and some of the Asian counterparts. With globalization at the forefront, Nations have understood the significance of unified growth. India can pursue this path of aided-growth in the field of higher education through collaborations with other successful nations – a partnership that would benefit both. In this milieu, can India provide a conducive ground to the foreign universities to flourish as well as benefit the Indian students enormously? Will foreign universities suffice for Indian Higher Education challenges? There is a strong debate on whether foreign educational institutions will finally be allowed to operate and the benefits accruing thereby. This paper attempts to examine the impact of Foreign Universities Bill on the Higher Education of the country. Keywords: Demographic Advantage, Foreign Universities, Higher Education.