African and Gulf countries, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar, are among the likely locations for Indian universities to establish offshore campuses. The regulations for these campuses are complete and will be available in a month.
In an interview with PTI, Kumar stated that a number of countries are stepping forward to provide infrastructure to Indian colleges looking to establish campuses abroad, and that the University Grants Commission (UGC) would assist the institutions in determining which countries they could do so in.
"In India, we have a massive university ecosystem. There are excellent universities, both central government and state government funded, as well as private universities "Kumar stated.
"We want to encourage these universities to establish campuses abroad. A few countries have offered to provide infrastructure for our universities to establish their campuses "He stated.
"We have countries with a large Indian diaspora who want our campuses to come and educate them," the UGC chairman explained. According to Kumar, "many African countries" have expressed interest in hosting Indian universities.
"There is enormous potential for establishing campuses in African countries. Thailand, Vietnam, and a few Gulf countries... there is a lot of interest, and there are a lot of opportunities. It's just that we haven't had any enabling legislation yet "He went on to say.
"In India, we have a massive university ecosystem. There are excellent universities, both central government and state government funded, as well as private universities "Kumar stated.
"We want to encourage these universities to establish campuses abroad. A few countries have offered to provide infrastructure for our universities to establish their campuses "He stated.
"We have countries with a large Indian diaspora who want our campuses to come and educate them," the UGC chairman explained. According to Kumar, "many African countries" have expressed interest in hosting Indian universities.
"There is huge potential for setting up campuses in African countries. Thailand, Vietnam and a few Gulf countries... there is immense interest and the opportunities are immense too. It is just that we have not had any enabling regulations so far," he added.
"The regulations are being fine tuned now. We also had discussions with various foreign universities delegations which have visited UGC, we have put draft for feedback and have received very good feedback. In another month or so, we will be able to release the final regulations," the UGC chairman said.
