Foreign universities coming to India, a boon for Bhutanese students

Thimphu [Bhutan], February 28 (ANI): India is all set to open its doors to foreign universities. This comes as great news for students in Bhutan who seek to get world-class education without bearing the huge cost of going and studying abroad, The Bhutan Live reported.

India’s University Grants Commission in January took an important step to further liberalise the entry of foreign educational institutions (FEIs) into India, when the draft UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023, was put up for comments, according to The Bhutan Live.
FEIs will for the first time in the history of India education, be allowed to set up campuses in India. These institutes will conduct undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral, post-doctoral and other programmes and award degrees, diplomas and certificates in all disciplines, on a standalone basis, with the prior approval of the UGC.

The move will benefit students from Bhutan and other South Asian countries. Although, there are good institutes in the country itself, more often than not, students leave for India and the west every year for higher education. Most of them are keen on getting undergraduate and graduate degrees in STEM. In fact, many Indian institutes offer scholarships to bright students.

According to The Bhutan Live, the foreign university entering India should have secured a position within the top 500 of overall/subject-wise global rankings. It must also be an institution -of-repute in its home country.

India’s higher education sector is expected to witness a major boost if the draft regulations are brought into force. Students will have an access to world-class education from the world’s top universities in their home country.

Faculties will get better opportunities. The universities will have international-level competition. It will be a major boost to the economy as well due to the increased foreign investment in the education sector which will lead to further economic growth, according to The Bhutan Live.

A survey conducted by the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in 2021, among the top 200 universities, found that eight foreign universities have said that they would ‘definitely consider’ India to set up a branch.

The recently unveiled Union Budget of India for Financial Year 2023-24 was closely watched by foreign policy mandarins as well as India’s aid recipient countries. Although the aid package for the upcoming fiscal year has been slashed from Rs. 6,292.30 Crore in 2022-23 to Rs. 5,408.37 Crore for 2023-24, yet the intent to boost a cooperative partnership with these countries remains with a focus on targeted interventions, The Bhutan Live reported.

While the budget has been slashed for most of the countries, the aid package for Bhutan, Maldives and Latin America saw an uptick. Where for Bhutan the aid figure rose from Rs. 2,266 Crore to Rs. 2,400 Crore, for the Maldives it rose from Rs. 360 Crore to Rs. 400 Crore and for Latin American countries Rs. 40 Crore to Rs. 50 Crore.