Academicians have been divided over whether the s fresh regulations on collaborations between Indian and foreign universities will prove beneficial, with some of them raising doubts over the quality of scholars and the cost involved for Indian students.
The University Grants Commission will govern twinning programmes, joint degree, and dual degree programmes to be offered jointly by Indian and foreign universities.
Similar regulations were put in place in 2012 and later amended in 2016, but they could not attract major collaborative opportunities. This year’s amended regulations allow Indian universities to collaborate with foreign counterparts without requiring the UGC’s permission.
The Commission has put in a condition that only top-1000 universities as per global rankings will be allowed to partner with Indian institutes that feature in the NIRF top-100 list. The latest edition of QS World University Rankings 2022 featured only 1300 universities, while in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022, over 1600 were included.
