Here are some general news updates from the Higher Education sector in India over the last week of June.
If Smriti Irani has her way, foreign universities could be in India
The newly elected MHRD, headed by Minister Smriti Irani will prioritise the setting up of the legal framework that will allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India and operate in the higher education market here in an effort to improve the quality of education in the country and making education accessible to the booming youth population, of the largest in the world. Both, the Foreign Education Providers Bill and the Prohibition of Unfair Practices Bill will be discussed and considered for approval. This was first proposed by the Congress government, when they were in power and has been pending for a decade now. The legislation will look into the aspects of profit making, admission procedure and student interest.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-06-23/news/50798353_1…
UGC forces Delhi University to scrap FYUP, revert to 3-year course
Delhi University has written to the UGC to say that they will recall the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) and will hereon continue with the previously used three year undergraduate programme. It has been reiterated that this change will not cause any problems for the students and admissions should happen without any problems. HRD Minister Smriti Irani said while she respects the autonomy of Universities, the interest of the students is of utmost priority.Opinions have been divided on the matter with some students delighting in the change while others claim to have preferred the FYUP.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ugc-forces-delhi-university-to-scrap-fyup-re…
Ten Indian universities in top 100 of THE Asia Rankings
The new Asia Rankings by THE are out and India has ten institutions in the list, a marked improvement from last year, when she had only three in the top 100. Ashok Thakur, India’s secretary for higher education confirmed that rankings are an important method of benchmarking against universal standards and Indian universities will have to participate in global rankings actively. While Asian countries are doing increasingly well in such rankings, globally, these are mostly dominated by North American and Western European Countries. In India, Panjab University has topped the list with a 32 ranking. The list also includes IIT Kharagpur (45), IIT Kanpur (55), IIT Delhi and Roorkee (59), IIT Guwahati (74), IIT Madras and Jadavpur University (76), Aligarh Muslim University (80) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (90).
http://www.hindustantimes.com/hteducation/greatcareers/ten-indian-unive…