Maharashtra Education News

The Indian Express

If there is one wish I would like to make for 2023, it is for shared peace and prosperity for all.All efforts to propel economic growth are for the prosperity of people. But GDP growth rates, the absolute size of GDP, and even per capita income, do not fully capture the prosperity of the masses. Increasing inequalities are a reality in India and most developing nations. Simon Kuznets told us decades back that it is going to happen as economies open up and growth accelerates, before it stabilises and even declines as those left behind start catching up. But how do they catch up with the front runners? It can happen only when one invests heavily in their skills, education, access to finance (capital/technology) and innovative models of development that dovetail inclusiveness with faster growth plans.In 2022, India has registered the highest growth rate amongst all G20 countries and it is likely to do so even in 2023. That’s a matter of pride. And within India, when we talk about growth and wealth creation, one name stands out — Gautam Adani. In a recent interview with India Today, he revealed that his rise started with the liberalisation of economic policies during Rajiv Gandhi’s time, and got momentum with the 1991 reforms. But the year 2022 has seen the most explosive growth with his net worth rising to about $125.8 billion (as per the Forbes list on December 28, 2022) making him the richest man in Asia and third-richest in the world.Many critics say this is all due to his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But then, why is the Chief Minister of Rajasthan hosting him as he announced plans to invest about Rs 65,000 crore in setting up a mega solar power plant of 10,000 MW, expanding a cement plant, and upgrading the Jaipur airport? Similarly, why did the Tamil Nadu government support him in setting up one of the largest solar power plants at Kamuthi? Even the West Bengal government has been wooing him for investment and the upgradation of its ports. The reality is that most of the top business houses work with all governments so long as it makes economic sense to them. Be it Adani, Reliance, Tatas, Wipro, and others — they all create wealth and millions of well-paid jobs. That’s their contribution to society. But they also give back to society through their CSR activities as well as through family foundations and trusts.A few years back, Azim Premji pledged to give away about half of his wealth to the society through Azim Premji Foundation. He topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List in 2020. How many people are aware that Gautam Adani’s foundation is committing Rs 60,000 crore to give back to society through promoting better health, education, and skill development? This, said Adani, was the best gift on his 60th birthday.While all this is commendable, I feel there could also be an alternative model for shared prosperity. And that is making the less privileged partners in the journey of wealth creation. Let me elaborate. Since Gautam Adani is committing Rs 60,000 crore through the Adani Foundation to give back to society, here is a small idea that can make millions prosperous, if he takes it up as a priority.The largest share of India’s working population is engaged in agriculture (about 46 per cent). Their education levels are low and the average holding size is small (1.08 ha). The average household income hovers below Rs 20,000 per month at current prices. Of course, many marginal farmers earn even less than this. This is not enough to provide a sustainable demand base for a manufacturing revolution in India. Educating these people at a large scale or even creating new skills may be a long-drawn process. So, here is an idea that can augment their incomes substantially and quickly.Adani aims to be the largest player in green energy, especially solar. Solar farms today need a lot of land that is degraded. But land is scarce in India and I am not sure how far this model can be scaled up. The alternative is to have solar as a third crop on farmers’ fields. The designing of solar panels and structures has to be done in a manner that allows enough sunlight to come through for photosynthesis of crops below. Farmers can keep growing two crops below these solar trees that are about four meters high. The investment in solar panels will be done largely by entrepreneurs (say Adani Green Energy) with some equity participation by the farmers (say 10 to 15 per cent). Farmers will maintain these solar trees regularly. Power will be generated throughout the year and it can be fed to the grid at an agreed price. The farmer will get rent for his land and a share in the profits of power generation.This idea is being tried in a number of countries, including India. Our research in this area led to the setting up of a pilot in Ujwa KVK in the Najafgarh area in Delhi with the help of former Lt Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal. Just two kilometres from the site of the pilot project, an entrepreneur, Surinder Ahuja (CEO, SUNMASTER), has tried out this idea on four acres and he is offering Rs 1.25 lakh per acre/year to farmers for using their land for solar and agriculture activities. This doubles farmers’ income within six months.The question is whether Adani can scale it a million times and create a revolution with farmers generating solar power along with food crops. Only then can the farmer become not only anna daata but also urja daata (giver of food as well as solar energy). This will be a true shared prosperity model.Gulati is Distinguished Professor at ICRIER. Views are personal

The Indian Express

The University Grants Commission is proposing new guidelines to allow the entry of foreign universities in India. Any good-faith effort to reform higher education ought to be welcomed. But before you applaud this latest pantomime on higher education and mistake it for a genuine revolution, ask a few probing questions. These so-called reforms, like so much that emanates from the UGC, are being carried out under false premises.Let us begin with the grandest of aspirations: To get top universities like Princeton, Stanford, Yale and Oxford to set up campuses in India. Ask yourself this. Why do these universities not have any branch campuses anywhere in the world, including countries with liberal regulatory environments? Why would they set up in India? What is it about the economics and the structural form of a top research university that makes it difficult to reproduce them? There are about four hundred foreign campuses operating in the world. But just consult the comprehensive database of American universities operating abroad compiled by C-BERT. Just go through the list yourself to see what proportion of those institutions are top-tier institutions. Barely a handful, if one is being generous. Very few are like NYU Abu Dhabi, but almost all of them received massive subsidies from the home government. Several high-profile ones like Yale–NUS have been “reabsorbed.” More than 30 per cent of foreign campuses receive some form of subsidy, and the better the institution, the more subsidy it requires. Can India justify subsidising top-tier foreign institutions with public money?Let us go further. This reform will apparently allow for the repatriation of money to the home institution. Now here is the blunt truth about universities. If you want to build a top-class university in India, it will have to integrate teaching and research. This is a financial black hole requiring continual support not derived from fees alone. Any private institution that is for profit that seeks to skim money off education can never build a world-class university since a top-class university requires continual reinvestment. Now, what kind of an institution looks to repatriate “surpluses?” The same kind that in India seeks profit.The UGC boldly declares that it will ensure that the qualifications of the faculty assigned to India will be the same as those of the faculty in the parent institution. A lot turns on how you interpret the term “qualification”. If it simply means formal equivalence of qualifications (PhD from a good institution, etc.) then most institutions are on par. But if it means faculty who are exceptional (which is what the top institutions claim they have), then there is no cost advantage to moving to India. Land and capital costs are not cheap. But if you are going to define equivalence as something close to those who have been through the tenure processes of the top-ranked universities, they have no economic or lifestyle incentives to spend a lot of time in India unless either their salaries are matched or exceeded. This makes running campuses in India with the same “standard” prohibitively expensive.Let us think about regulatory trust. Would you invest millions of dollars in a regulatory system that is unreliable, to say the least? There are at least 30 to 40 entrepreneurs in India who could (financially, at least), single-handedly create slightly lower-cost, world-class alternatives to Western institutions. But there has been only a trickle of institutions in India so far that are ambitious in this respect. The question to ask is why? If we are not investing enough, why would anyone else? Does anyone now remember the Institutions of Eminence revolution that was heralded a few years ago? How many of those high-profile greenfield projects have got off to a flying start, within two years, as was promised? How much net investment in higher-end research universities did that botched reform generate?The mendacity of this reform will also be obvious to anyone who has looked at Indian higher education. The same UGC that wants to standardise the admissions process for all public universities gravely assaults their autonomy day in and day out and is now supposed to protect the autonomy and distinct identity of foreign universities. You would be foolish to take the UGC at face value. In any case, the UGC is engaging in a nauseating form of reverse discrimination against Indian, and especially public, institutions. You ought to be wary of such a regulator. Just imagine the oddity of saying in higher education: Freedom for foreign, chains for the Indian.What is this reform supposed to achieve? The ostensible rationale is to make high-quality foreign education available in India at a somewhat lower cost so that students don’t have to leave, and some of the billions we are using to consume foreign higher education can be spent in the country. If you look at the C-BERT list, what strikes you is that not only are there very few top-tier universities, most foreign campuses are very small, with an average size of 300-400 students. How much supply are you augmenting, especially in a context where you are diminishing the net supply of higher education by destroying established public universities? Perhaps Indian capital might be willing to subsidise a foreign brand. Perhaps some professional schools will show up since mostly they can generate a surplus.The only thing good about this announcement is the UGC’s perverse honesty. It thinks of universities and teaching like a McDonald’s franchise that can easily be replicated without regard to agglomeration effects, or the effects of the larger ecosystem in which they are embedded. It seems to have little conception of what combination of capital, vision, and human resources it takes to get a high-end research university going. More depressing is its utter defeatism. The UGC has admitted that its cumulative failures, across governments and political parties, have brought us to this pass. India could have been a top-class, lower-cost higher education hub for the world. Indian universities, both public and private, can reach glorious heights of excellence; that both the top and the average quality can be improved. We gave up on that project with public institutions a while ago, then pinned hopes on a private revolution, which in quality terms is still a trickle, and now want to hang onto the coattails of foreign brands who will either be elusive or for the most part second rate. University Gimmicks Commission, indeed.The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express

The Indian Express

The University Grants Commission is proposing new guidelines to allow the entry of foreign universities in India. Any good-faith effort to reform higher education ought to be welcomed. But before you applaud this latest pantomime on higher education and mistake it for a genuine revolution, ask a few probing questions. These so-called reforms, like so much that emanates from the UGC, are being carried out under false premises.Let us begin with the grandest of aspirations: To get top universities like Princeton, Stanford, Yale and Oxford to set up campuses in India. Ask yourself this. Why do these universities not have any branch campuses anywhere in the world, including countries with liberal regulatory environments? Why would they set up in India? What is it about the economics and the structural form of a top research university that makes it difficult to reproduce them? There are about four hundred foreign campuses operating in the world. But just consult the comprehensive database of American universities operating abroad compiled by C-BERT. Just go through the list yourself to see what proportion of those institutions are top-tier institutions. Barely a handful, if one is being generous. Very few are like NYU Abu Dhabi, but almost all of them received massive subsidies from the home government. Several high-profile ones like Yale–NUS have been “reabsorbed.” More than 30 per cent of foreign campuses receive some form of subsidy, and the better the institution, the more subsidy it requires. Can India justify subsidising top-tier foreign institutions with public money?Let us go further. This reform will apparently allow for the repatriation of money to the home institution. Now here is the blunt truth about universities. If you want to build a top-class university in India, it will have to integrate teaching and research. This is a financial black hole requiring continual support not derived from fees alone. Any private institution that is for profit that seeks to skim money off education can never build a world-class university since a top-class university requires continual reinvestment. Now, what kind of an institution looks to repatriate “surpluses?” The same kind that in India seeks profit.The UGC boldly declares that it will ensure that the qualifications of the faculty assigned to India will be the same as those of the faculty in the parent institution. A lot turns on how you interpret the term “qualification”. If it simply means formal equivalence of qualifications (PhD from a good institution, etc.) then most institutions are on par. But if it means faculty who are exceptional (which is what the top institutions claim they have), then there is no cost advantage to moving to India. Land and capital costs are not cheap. But if you are going to define equivalence as something close to those who have been through the tenure processes of the top-ranked universities, they have no economic or lifestyle incentives to spend a lot of time in India unless either their salaries are matched or exceeded. This makes running campuses in India with the same “standard” prohibitively expensive.Let us think about regulatory trust. Would you invest millions of dollars in a regulatory system that is unreliable, to say the least? There are at least 30 to 40 entrepreneurs in India who could (financially, at least), single-handedly create slightly lower-cost, world-class alternatives to Western institutions. But there has been only a trickle of institutions in India so far that are ambitious in this respect. The question to ask is why? If we are not investing enough, why would anyone else? Does anyone now remember the Institutions of Eminence revolution that was heralded a few years ago? How many of those high-profile greenfield projects have got off to a flying start, within two years, as was promised? How much net investment in higher-end research universities did that botched reform generate?The mendacity of this reform will also be obvious to anyone who has looked at Indian higher education. The same UGC that wants to standardise the admissions process for all public universities gravely assaults their autonomy day in and day out and is now supposed to protect the autonomy and distinct identity of foreign universities. You would be foolish to take the UGC at face value. In any case, the UGC is engaging in a nauseating form of reverse discrimination against Indian, and especially public, institutions. You ought to be wary of such a regulator. Just imagine the oddity of saying in higher education: Freedom for foreign, chains for the Indian.What is this reform supposed to achieve? The ostensible rationale is to make high-quality foreign education available in India at a somewhat lower cost so that students don’t have to leave, and some of the billions we are using to consume foreign higher education can be spent in the country. If you look at the C-BERT list, what strikes you is that not only are there very few top-tier universities, most foreign campuses are very small, with an average size of 300-400 students. How much supply are you augmenting, especially in a context where you are diminishing the net supply of higher education by destroying established public universities? Perhaps Indian capital might be willing to subsidise a foreign brand. Perhaps some professional schools will show up since mostly they can generate a surplus.The only thing good about this announcement is the UGC’s perverse honesty. It thinks of universities and teaching like a McDonald’s franchise that can easily be replicated without regard to agglomeration effects, or the effects of the larger ecosystem in which they are embedded. It seems to have little conception of what combination of capital, vision, and human resources it takes to get a high-end research university going. More depressing is its utter defeatism. The UGC has admitted that its cumulative failures, across governments and political parties, have brought us to this pass. India could have been a top-class, lower-cost higher education hub for the world. Indian universities, both public and private, can reach glorious heights of excellence; that both the top and the average quality can be improved. We gave up on that project with public institutions a while ago, then pinned hopes on a private revolution, which in quality terms is still a trickle, and now want to hang onto the coattails of foreign brands who will either be elusive or for the most part second rate. University Gimmicks Commission, indeed.The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express

The Indian Express

The Centre is set to open the door for foreign universities to set up campuses in India, pushing through an ambitious proposal that has run into political roadblocks in the past.On Thursday, higher education regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) released draft regulations to allow foreign universities to enter India. Public comments and feedback can be sent by email to ugcforeigncollaboration@gmail.com until January 18. The regulations will be notified by the end of this month.Does this mean that universities like Oxford, Cambridge, or Harvard can now open campuses in India?Technically, yes. But it will ultimately depend on whether those universities find the Indian market attractive enough to invest in a branch campus in the country.The UGC has said that universities in some European countries have shown a “keen interest” in setting up India campuses. Over the next few months, the UGC will reach out to Indian missions abroad to take the proposal forward, and will hold talks with ambassadors of various countries to apprise them of the regulations.In response to an email on Thursday, a spokesperson for the University of Birmingham told The Indian Express that while the university does not currently plan to open a branch campus in India, “We are always open to opportunities for partnership working.”“We would also point Indian students towards the excellent study opportunities available at the University of Birmingham in both the UK and Dubai,” the spokesperson said.In September 2022, responding to a question on whether its planned to establish a campus in India or launch courses in collaboration with Indian universities, the University of Oxford had told The Indian Express by email: “We have no plans for an overseas campus and are not in discussion regarding joint/ dual degrees or twinning programmes.”Responding to the same question in September last year, King’s College London had said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Telangana regarding “collaborative research projects, staff and student exchanges, as well as curriculum development and upskilling” in Telangana Pharma City.What criteria has the government laid down for foreign universities?In the draft regulations announced by chairperson Dr M Jagadesh Kumar on Thursday, the UGC said universities that are placed in the top 500 — either in the overall or the subject-wise category — in global rankings such as QS, can apply to enter India.Universities that do not participate in such rankings must be “reputed” in their countries to be able to apply. The draft regulations do not specify a metric to judge the ‘reputation’ of the university.Will the government regulate the fee structure of foreign educational institutions in India?No, the government will have no say in this matter. The foreign universities will have full freedom to decide the fee structure and admission criteria for both Indian and overseas students.They will also get a free hand in hiring faculty, either from India or abroad, and will not be expected to mandatorily follow reservation policies in admissions and employment.However, the draft regulations do say that the fee structure should be “transparent and reasonable”. Dr Kumar said the universities were unlikely to make their fees prohibitive, as that would deter students. “Based on an evaluation process, full or partial need-based scholarships may be provided by the FHEI (foreign higher educational institution) from funds such as endowment funds, alumni donations, tuition revenues, and other sources,” the draft regulations say.Why did previous attempts to allow foreign university campuses in India fail?The coalition governments that ran India for many years up to 2014, faced several pulls and pressures. The left parties, which have strong ideological and economic reservations against the entry of foreign capital in higher education, had a much larger electoral presence in national politics during this period.The BJP, which was in the Opposition then, too had opposed the move. The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch adopted a resolution against the UPA government’s Foreign Educational Institution Regulation Bill, saying it would “open floodgates for such foreign educational institutions whose sole objective is to only earn profit”.Despite enjoying a formidable majority in Lok Sabha and governments in many states, the BJP-led Centre even now has chosen the regulatory route rather than legislation for this reform.Also, it is only now that the UGC has proposed that foreign universities will be allowed to repatriate funds to their parent campuses. This was not the case earlier — and most foreign players found this requirement restrictive.However, as India looked to set up IIT campuses abroad, there was a rethink in this position. In 2016, the NITI Aayog strongly pitched for foreign education providers to be allowed into India. The draft regulations say that all cross-border flow of funds, including through repatriation, will be covered by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.How does this proposal relate to the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020?The NEP, 2020, says that “top universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India”, and “a legislative framework facilitating such entry will be put in place, and such universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India”.In a way, the draft regulations released on Thursday only seek to institutionalise the NEP’s vision.What safeguards has the UGC proposed to secure the interests of Indian students?The draft states that the UGC will have the right to inspect the campuses at any time. Dr Kumar said that they will not be outside the purview of anti-ragging and other criminal laws. The draft says the UGC shall impose a penalty and/ or suspend/ withdraw its approval at any time if the university’s “activities or academic programmes are against the interest of India”.Asked whether the clause leaves room for misuse, the UGC chairman said that in the unlikely event of such an occasion arising, aggrieved parties could always seek legal recourse.The draft regulations also require the foreign universities to submit audit reports and annual reports to the UGC “certifying that [their] operations…in India are in compliance with FEMA 1999” and other relevant government policies.

The Indian Express

Students have welcomed the University Grants Commission‘s draft norms for establishment and operation of foreign universities in the country, saying it will improve the quality of education and research and give aspirants exposure to world-class learning without having to travel abroad.The UGC announced the draft regulations for ‘Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India’.The final norms will be notified by the end of the month after considering feedback from all stakeholders.According to the draft norms, foreign universities will be able to set up their campuses in India for the first time. These varsities can also decide on the admission process, and fee structure and repatriate their funds back home.Sumit Bhati, 21, said, “I am planning to go abroad to pursue my post-graduation as the education is better there. I welcome the UGC notification but I don’t think universities will be established here soon. It will also depend on the types of universities that are interested to come to India.”.Kritima Bhapta, who is planning to shift to a European country for her PhD, said Indian students will be able to benefit from the world-class expertise of these varsities.“The education system in foreign universities is more advanced. Foreign universities offer a better quality of education.“If they are allowed to set their campuses in India, Indian students will be able to benefit from their world-class expertise in innovation and research,” Bhapta said. Bhapta, who has done her post-graduation from Singapore, said it will help those students who are poor or from the lower middle class households.“Studying abroad is expensive, especially in countries like the UK and the US. Because of the high costs associated, a lot of students who have the potential but don’t have the means to afford the education, are not able to go to the universities of their choice.“If foreign universities set up their campuses in India, this cost would be reduced significantly,” she said.Sidhant Gupta (25), who is pursuing his post-graduation from a UK university remotely, said the education system in foreign universities is more advanced.“Foreign Universities offer a better quality of education and if they are allowed to set their campuses in India, Indian students will then be able to benefit immensely,” he said.However, a few students raised questions over the move, saying the government should instead focus on improving the standard of education in Indian universities.“The government should focus more on improving the standard of education and infrastructure of Indian universities so that they are able to compete with universities at a global level,” Gaurdeep Kaur, whose brother is studying in Canada, said.She said her mother took a loan of 20 lahks to fund is her brother’s education.“If the universities here were good, my brother could have easily studied here. However, the education here is not good,” Kaur added.Sean Young, who is pursuing International Relations from UK, feels this is not going to make a big difference.“You’re allowing foreign universities to set up a campus in India — that’s great but no government intervention in the fee structure is a major red flag.“It is already bad enough that students have to leave the country to pursue education, it’s costly and tuition is not cheap. With this decision, I’m upbeat but the economics side of the policy needs work,” he said.Noting that foreign universities with campuses in the country can only offer full-time programmes in offline mode and not online or distance learning, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said the foreign universities and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) will need a nod from the UGC to set up their campuses in India.The initial approval will be for 10 years and will be renewed in the ninth year subject to the meeting of certain conditions, he added and clarified that these institutions shall not offer any such study programme which jeopardises the national interest of India or the standards of higher education here. 

The Indian Express

KARNATAKA’S ORDER banning the hijab in school education at the senior level may not have affected exam attendance or girls’ enrolment but in Udupi district, the epicentre of protests for and against the headscarf in the state, there has been a significant shift of Muslim students from government to private pre-university colleges (PUC), according to admissions data accessed by The Indian Express.Data accessed by The Indian Express shows that while the number of Muslim students entering Class 11 (known as first PUC or PUC I in Karnataka) across all pre-university colleges in Udupi is almost the same (1,296 in 2021-22 to 1,320 in 2022-23), their enrolment in government PUCs has dropped by half from the previous year — the number is also the lowest in five years (see chart).According to the data, 186 Muslim students were admitted to PUC I in government pre-university colleges in Udupi for 2022-23, after 388 in 2021-22. Of these, a gender break-up shows 91 Muslim girls were admitted to PUC I in government institutions as against 178 in 2021-22 and the enrolment of Muslim boys dropped from 210 to 95.This drop is offset by an increase in their enrolment across private (or unaided) pre-university colleges in the district. In 2022-23, 927 students from the community enrolled in PUC I in unaided colleges as opposed to 662 in 2021-22. In addition, admission of Muslim boys shows an increase from 334 to 440 and girls from 328 to 487.A case in point is Salihath PU College in Udupi. According to the private institution, 30 Muslim girls enrolled in PUC I (or Class 11) in 2021-22, and 57 in 2022-23. Aslam Haikady, administrator of Saliath Group of Education, said, “The enrollment of Muslim girls in our PU college has almost doubled for the first time. This is a testament to how the hijab issue has actually impacted them personally and academically.”Habeeb Rehman, the principal of ALIhsan PU college, another private institution, said, “The trend in boys, too, may be because parents want them to stay away from any agitation on hijab. Considering the communalisation and politicisation of hijab in government PU colleges in Udupi, parents may have decided to ensure they focus on education and discipline in private PU colleges this academic year.”When contacted, B C Nagesh, Karnataka’s Minister of School Education and Literacy, said, “When it comes to admission of students, we look at the overall students’ trend, irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. We don’t single out a particular community or section of students and assess their admission numbers. Eventually, we want to ensure that we deliver quality education to all students, irrespective of their background. We feel, the overall admission numbers of all students in government PU colleges have increased considerably compared to previous years. However, if at all there is a dip in the Muslim students’ numbers in Udupi government PU colleges, we will look into it.”The latest trend comes at a time when there has been a steady increase in the number of Muslim girls going to schools and colleges in the state – the GAR (Gross Attendance Ratio) of Muslim women in higher education rose from a low of 1.1 per cent in 2007-08 to as high as 15.8 per cent in 2017-18, according to government surveys. GAR, in this context, is the ratio of Muslim women aged 18-23 years attending colleges to the total number of Muslim women in that age cohort.Besides, all registered Muslim girl students had appeared in the final exam held in April 2022, according to the deputy directors of the PU (Pre-University) Board of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.Since then, the latest admissions data show, Udupi is the only district in the state where the number of Muslim girls in government PUCs has failed to cross double digits.Overall, 4,971 students in all categories registered for PUC I in government institutions in Udupi in 2022-23 compared to 5,962 the previous year. Similarly, the overall enrolment in private PUCs in Udupi increased from 6,773 to 5,401.The hijab row erupted early last year after six female students of the Government PU College in Udupi claimed they were not allowed to attend classes wearing them. This led to protests that spread to other districts and the state passing an order for students to stick to prescribed uniforms in PUC (Class 11 and 12) and degree colleges. In government colleges, the hijab is not part of the uniform, which rules out the headscarf on their campuses. At the same time, several private PUCs allow the hijab as part of their uniform.Last year, a three-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court upheld the state government notification, holding that a restriction on school uniform does not violate fundamental rights. The High Court ruling was challenged before the Supreme Court, where a two-judge bench delivered a split verdict — the appeal will be heard afresh by a larger bench, which is yet to be constituted.The trend underlined by the admissions data is pronounced in the Government PU College in Udupi, which was at the heart of the protests. Here, 41 Muslim girls enrolled in the first PU in 2021-22 — the highest since 2018-19. In 2022-23, the college had 27 new admissions in the same grade. Additionally, of the 41 in PUC I in 2021-22, only 29 graduated to the second PU (or Class 12).Rudre Gowda, the college’s principal, said, “Out of the 12 Muslim girls who did not graduate from first to second PU, only two dropped out because of the hijab issue. Six did not pass the first PU exams. Four were long absentees. As far as the dip in Muslim girls’ enrolment (in first PUC this year) is concerned, there are chances that they would have preferred a college where hijab is allowed or closer to their homes.”BJP leader Raghupati Bhat, the Udupi MLA and president of the college’s development committee, said, “We are looking at the overall enrolment of girls in our college which is 365 this year, a three-year high. There is no discrimination based on education because of hijab here. We are just ensuring equality by enforcing a common dress code. Moreover, the girls are being influenced by external players like CFI and PFI, who are discouraging them from attending government schools in order to strengthen their case in the Supreme Court.”Hussain Kodibengre, a convenor of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights in Udupi and one of the petitioners in the hijab case in Supreme Court, said, “Threatening statements by some BJP leaders have instilled fear amongst the girls, which is forcing them to discontinue government college and join an unaided college. We are counselling the girls consistently to stay away from anti-social elements, to comply with the High Court order and to focus on education until there is a final resolution in the Supreme Court.”

The Indian Express

After years of efforts by successive governments, the needle finally moved Thursday.The University Grants Commission’s announcement allowing foreign universities to set up campuses here offers a path of globalisation to the Indian higher education landscape. The draft regulations signal the widest opening of doors with the government even permitting cash remittances to the parent university.The NDA government officially announced its commitment to the entry of foreign universities in the National Education Policy document in July 2020. The idea, however, goes back to the ’90s.Governments in the past have made several attempts to enact legislation for the entry, operation and regulation of foreign universities in the country. The first was in 1995 when a Bill was introduced but could not go forward. In 2005-06, too, the draft law could only go up to the Cabinet stage.The last attempt was by UPA-II in 2010 in the shape of the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, which failed to pass muster in Parliament and lapsed in 2014 since the BJP, Left and Samajwadi Party opposed it.One of the main reservations against foreign universities operating in India was that they would raise the cost of education (high tuition fees, faculty poaching from public universities), rendering it out of reach for a large part of the population.At that time, it was also not clear if this Bill would enthuse the best universities abroad to set up campuses in India.The latest UGC draft regulations try to address the latter by promising foreign universities complete autonomy in operating their Indian branch, including academic matters, governance, admission policy, tuition fee, faculty hiring, and remuneration.More significantly, repatriation of funds to the parent institution abroad, which was prohibited under the UPA-era Bill and had emerged as a major sticking point, has also been allowed.There’s also no requirement for foreign education providers to maintain a corpus fund to operate in India. The UPA Bill insisted on an undertaking from universities to maintain a corpus fund of at least Rs 50 crore.Despite the freedoms offered by the Indian government, attracting top universities may still remain a challenge. Over the last two decades, overseas branch campuses have mushroomed across the globe. According to the Cross-Border Education Research Team at the State University of New York at Albany, there are over 200 international branch campuses of foreign universities currently operating around the globe.US universities alone run over 70 foreign campuses, most of which are clustered in China and the Gulf countries. Interestingly, the funding of most of the foreign campuses of American universities mainly comes from the host countries’ governments.New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi and US campuses in Doha, including those run by Northwestern, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Texas A&M are all built on state funding and state-sponsored infrastructure.The government has offered no such financial or infrastructural support. Instead, the hope, officials said, is in the formidable size of the target segment. Currently, just over a quarter of India’s 18-23-year-olds are enrolled in a college or university. This leaves a vast potential market open for foreign education providers. It remains to be seen if this, along with operational and financial autonomy (including the freedom to repatriate income) will be enough to attract reputed universities to India.

The Indian Express

After years of efforts by successive governments, the needle finally moved Thursday.The University Grants Commission’s announcement allowing foreign universities to set up campuses here offers a path of globalisation to the Indian higher education landscape. The draft regulations signal the widest opening of doors with the government even permitting cash remittances to the parent university.The NDA government officially announced its commitment to the entry of foreign universities in the National Education Policy document in July 2020. The idea, however, goes back to the ’90s.Governments in the past have made several attempts to enact legislation for the entry, operation and regulation of foreign universities in the country. The first was in 1995 when a Bill was introduced but could not go forward. In 2005-06, too, the draft law could only go up to the Cabinet stage.The last attempt was by UPA-II in 2010 in the shape of the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, which failed to pass muster in Parliament and lapsed in 2014 since the BJP, Left and Samajwadi Party opposed it.One of the main reservations against foreign universities operating in India was that they would raise the cost of education (high tuition fees, faculty poaching from public universities), rendering it out of reach for a large part of the population.At that time, it was also not clear if this Bill would enthuse the best universities abroad to set up campuses in India.The latest UGC draft regulations try to address the latter by promising foreign universities complete autonomy in operating their Indian branch, including academic matters, governance, admission policy, tuition fee, faculty hiring, and remuneration.More significantly, repatriation of funds to the parent institution abroad, which was prohibited under the UPA-era Bill and had emerged as a major sticking point, has also been allowed.There’s also no requirement for foreign education providers to maintain a corpus fund to operate in India. The UPA Bill insisted on an undertaking from universities to maintain a corpus fund of at least Rs 50 crore.Despite the freedoms offered by the Indian government, attracting top universities may still remain a challenge. Over the last two decades, overseas branch campuses have mushroomed across the globe. According to the Cross-Border Education Research Team at the State University of New York at Albany, there are over 200 international branch campuses of foreign universities currently operating around the globe.US universities alone run over 70 foreign campuses, most of which are clustered in China and the Gulf countries. Interestingly, the funding of most of the foreign campuses of American universities mainly comes from the host countries’ governments.New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi and US campuses in Doha, including those run by Northwestern, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Texas A&M are all built on state funding and state-sponsored infrastructure.The government has offered no such financial or infrastructural support. Instead, the hope, officials said, is in the formidable size of the target segment. Currently, just over a quarter of India’s 18-23-year-olds are enrolled in a college or university. This leaves a vast potential market open for foreign education providers. It remains to be seen if this, along with operational and financial autonomy (including the freedom to repatriate income) will be enough to attract reputed universities to India.

The Indian Express

The UGC Chief M Jagadesh Kumar today announced guidelines for foreign universities setting up campuses in India. Kumar has issued guidelines on several topics such as the admission process of the Indian campuses of foreign universities, their mode of classes, transfer of funds and more.Here are some top questions answeredUGC approval compulsoryAll foreign universities that wish to set up their campus in India will be allowed to do so only after getting approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC). “No foreign higher education can set up campuses without the approval of the UGC,” the chairman said.However, foreign universities setting up campuses in the country will get initial approval for a period of 10 years only. The approval granted will be renewed in the ninth year, subject to them meeting certain conditions.To set up a campus in Indian foreign universities will either have to be in the top 500 to apply or will have to be “highly reputed” in their respective countries (if the varsity does not participate in global rankings). If their ranking is between 500 and 100, but the subject-wise ranking is higher than overall, then in such cases, the institutions will be permitted to set up their campuses only for those ranked subjects.Procedure for coming to IndiaThe process for getting approval for setting up a campus in India will be strictly online in the beginning. Interested institutions have to apply at the UGC portal with a non-refundable fee, and then submit some documents (asked by the UGC). After the applications are received, a committee formed by the Commission will examine these applications on these factors:— Credibility of the institution— Programmes to be offered by the institution— Their potential to strengthen academic opportunities in India— Proposed infrastructureThis process will be conducted within 45 days of the date of application, and the committee will provide its recommendations to the institute. After that, these recommendations will be examined by the Commission and the commission may decide to give a grant in principle approval and issue a letter of intent to the foreign higher educational institutes (HEI) to set up their campus. The Commission will give two year to the institute to set up their campus. If an extension is required, the Commission will take the decision on a case-by-case basis. Once the campus is set up, the Commission will check the readiness of the campus within 45 days of receiving the information of readiness from the HEIs.Offline classes onlyAll the foreign universities that open their branches in India will be allowed to conduct offline classes only, i.e. foreign universities can offer only full-time programmes in physical mode.Freedom to choose admission process, fee, facultyKumar has assured that all foreign varsities will have the freedom to come up with their own admission process. However, the universities will have to ensure “quality of education imparted at their Indian campuses is on par with their main campus.”In addition to this, foreign higher educational institutes (HEIs) will also have the freedom to devise their own fee structure, provided it is transparent and reasonable. Regulations also state that the institutes can award partial or complete need-based scholarships from their own endowment funds, alumni donations etc.The UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations 2023 also provide foreign institutions complete autonomy to hire faculty and other staff members either from abroad or in India. However, if the faculty members are flown into India from other countries, the faculty members will have to reside in the campus for a considerable amount of time and dedicate resources to the Indian campuses. “We have also said in our regulations that campuses established by foreign HEIs shall ensure that the foreign faculty appointed to teach at the Indian campus shall stay at the campus in India for a reasonable period. It’s not that they will come here for a week or two and then go back. They should be here for a reasonable time, i.e. at least for a semester or two, and then there could be rotation of these faculty members, as decided by these universities,” he said.Can international students also get admission to these institutes?Yes, foreign higher educational institutes will have the freedom to enroll Indian as well as international students on their Indian campuses.International funds transferTo ensure that there is no chaos in funds transfer, Kumar said that all matters related to funding will be as per the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. More details about the same will be notified by the end of the month.Additionally, the UGC will reserve the right to inspect these Indian campuses of foreign HEIs at any time, and they will not be outside the purview of anti-ragging and other criminal laws.

The Indian Express

THE Opposition has a new bone to pick with the Mamata Banerjee government. Effective immediately, West Bengal has announced a revised mid-day meal menu for schools run by its government, with chicken and seasonal fruits to be served weekly, from January to April.Served a googly, which it cannot bat away outright in a state with few non-veg apprehensions, the Opposition pointed out that the period of the scheme coincides with the run-up to the panchayat elections in the state.West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu told The Indian Express that “paucity of funds” had made them restrict the scheme’s duration to four months. “Under the caring leadership of our Chief Minister, we have constantly strived to provide maximum benefits to students, and this gesture is one more step in that direction. We have introduced chicken and seasonal fruits from our savings. We would have been very happy to continue the menu throughout the year, but that would need much more funds which, sadly, we lack,” said Basu.According to the January 3 notification issued by the School Education Department, Rs 372 crore extra will be allocated to provide for the extra chicken and fruits, which will be additional to the usual menu of rice, potatoes, pulses, vegetables, soybean and eggs. The extra money per child enrolled in the mid-day now known as PM POSHAN is expected to be Rs 20 a week, for 16 weeks. The notification put the number of beneficiaries at over 1.16 crore students in state-run and aided schools.While the state and Centre share the cost of PM POSHAN in a 60:40 ratio, the notification underlined that the additional Rs 372 crore will be paid entirely from the state’s share.The scheme comes into force immediately, with the additional items to be served in different blocks on different days of the week.The panchayat polls, which are expected to see a heated contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress and BJP, are to be held in the month of April-May. Last time, the rural elections had been marked by widespread violence.Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “Why did the state government all of a sudden feel the need to introduce chicken and fruits in the mid-day meal scheme? This means that the CM has understood that the situation is dicey and her party will not fare well in the rural polls… The government is now offering chicken to divert people’s attention from real issues. The TMC is trying to buy people’s votes in exchange for chicken and fruits.”Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty too slammed the state government. “It is good that the state government has increased the allotment for mid-day meals. It was a long-standing demand of the people. But has the government done this to improve the quality of the meals or just because elections are around the corner?” Chakraborty said, adding that they would have no objections if the government extended the scheme to December.State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said it was clear that the move was taken with an eye on the panchayat polls. “But we will not protest as we want the people of Bengal to have the best of things. However, please ensure that the move is corruption-free,” Chowdhury said.Questioning the Opposition’s objections, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said it should not read politics into every government move. “I would tell the CPI(M) that it should keep its mouth shut as its government destroyed the education system in the state… To the BJP, I would say that first criticise your own government’s decisions. We saw how petrol and diesel prices were (kept low) before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Before the Gujarat elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated projects worth crores.”Criticising the BJP’s “narrow-mindedness”, Sen added: “It indulges in this type of politics. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee works for the people throughout the year.”The introduction of chicken in Bengal is striking because measures to get eggs into mid-day meals in other states have faced resistance by some groups. Currently, eggs are served in mid-day meals in 13 states and three UTs as part of “additional food items”, with the states/UTs picking the tab. The frequency ranges from five days a week to once a month.In Madhya Pradesh, the previous Congress government’s decision to add eggs to the menu of anganwadis was overturned by the BJP after it came to power in 2020. In Karnataka, another BJP-ruled state, the proposal to add eggs has been fiercely resisted in the past by Lingayat and Jain seers.Meanwhile, Bengal Education Minister Basu had a counter-suggestion for the Centre: “We request it to provide us more funds so that we can continue with such best practices.”