Earn a foreign degree at home
Education across nations: Students getting information on higher studies from a stall at an international educational fair.
THE EMERGENCE of foreign education providers in India is an offshoot of the process of privatisation and globalisation of educational institutions. Since the last few years, there has been a spurt in the demand for courses or programmes offered by Indian institutions working in collaboration with foreign universities. More than 130 institutions in the country are collaborating with foreign institutions and offering foreign degrees.
Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of them (23), followed by Maharashtra (20) and Delhi (19), according to the country's first study on "Foreign Education Providers in India" conducted by the New Delhi-based National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) and commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The foreign education providers are concentrated in metropolitan cities and other cities where the prospects for vocational courses exist on a large scale. At present, only the U.K. and the U.S. have shown interest in collaboration with Indian partners. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada have been constantly watching the developments and the Indian Government's stand on regulation regarding the foreign education providers.
These countries are organising educational fairs and have representatives to attract Indian students to their shores. They do not show interest in educational collaboration with India, as they do not find any enabling laws for the legal operation.
Courses
The majority of foreign education providers are offering professional and vocational courses. The interim report of the NIEPA stated that out of the sample of 131 institutions, 107 were providing vocational courses, 19 technical courses and only five were providing general education.
Among the vocational courses, management is the most popular. Business Management and Hotel Management constitute nearly 80 per cent of the courses offered. Maharashtra has the maximum number of programmes in Hotel Management while Delhi has the highest in Business Management. Since vocational courses have huge potential for employment in the private sector, students prefer such courses even though they are not recognised. A case study in New Delhi found that preferred courses by the foreign institutes in India are Business Management (60 per cent), Travel and Hotel Management (15), Architecture (10), IT (10), Fashion Design (10) and Social Sciences (5).
The type of education is suitable for students in different vocational courses and corporate employees who need training in use of IT software in management and use of tools for effective decision-making. The interesting features of this type of education are flexibility in duration and curricula, easy credit transfer, multiple entry and multiple exit course design.
There are seven modes of collaboration with Indian institutes. They are: twinning, franchisee, study and examination centres, multiple collaboration, link programme, programmatic collaboration and offshore campus.
Twinning
In this programme, students can complete part of their study in India and then in the main university, wherever it may be. Students prefer this mode because it provides them a cost-effective opportunity to earn a foreign degree with outside exposure. However, in some cases, students find difficulty in obtaining visa even when the foreign university grants them admission under the programme. CMR Institute of Management Studies, Institute of Finance and International Management, M.S Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies, TASMAC (Training and Advanced Studies in Management and Communication) and Wigan & Leigh College, in Bangalore, offer the twinning programme.
Franchisee
Under this arrangement, foreign institutions grant permission to start an institution in another country to execute their programmes with their name, curriculum, and evaluation methods. Presently, Wigan and Leigh, U.K. and Western International University are providing degrees under this arrangement. Wigan & Leigh College, Chamarajpet, Bangalore, offers business management courses under this scheme.
Study and Examination Centres
Under this arrangement, the foreign institution or university ties up with an Indian partner to deliver the course and conduct the examination for the same. The parent foreign institution decides the course design, curriculum, examination process and other issues. In this way, the foreign institution establishes a chain of study and examination centres in different parts of the country. For example, Institute of Computer and Business Management, Hyderabad is a study centre for Kensington University, U.S.
Multiple Collaboration
This type of collaboration is rare and found only in the case of Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, which has got tie-ups with Wharton, Kellog's and London Business School. These institutes are providing one-year PG diploma course in management and contribute in development of course material and faculty exchange.
Link Programme
Under this arrangement, an Indian institution delivers a certain credit programme in a particular time period and the rest of the course follows at the foreign institutions. For example, a diploma in hotel management is completed with certain credit in India and a foreign degree is earned after completing certain credit abroad in a foreign university. This is also Twinning. But under Twinning, the part education abroad is done for only one qualification whereas in the Link Programme part education enables to earn another foreign degree.
Programmatic Collaboration
This enables a student to complete study in India and get a joint degree (from foreign university as well as private education institution). It is one of the cheapest ways to earn a foreign degree.
Under this, foreign institutions offer support in developing curriculum and there is joint course preparation, joint evaluation of the programme, teachers' visit, student summer trip etc. Gujarat Ayurveda University has collaboration with nine foreign institutions.
Offshore campus
Under this arrangement, the foreign university may open its branch either as its subsidiary or in partnership with the Indian institution. It involves FDI flows into India. However, no such branch campus is said to operate in India, as there is no enabling domestic regulation, says the NIPEA report.
Fees
Fees for diploma courses in Hotel Management ranges between Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 1.8 lakh while fees for Master's in Business Management ranges between Rs. 1.8 lakh and Rs. 2.5 lakh. Some reputed institutes in Bangalore charge Rs. 4.80 lakhs for a two-year MBA course.
Ten prominent institutes have tied up with foreign institutes or universities in the State. They are CMR Institute of Management Studies (collaboration with University of Leicester), Institute of Finance and International Management (Liverpool John Moores University), Mallya Aditi International School (Oxford Brookes University), M.S. Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies (Coventry University, U.K.), M.P. Pillai Institute of Management (Marshal University, U.S), Presidency College of Hotel Management (American Hotel and Lodge Association — AHLA), Rai University (University of Edecil, London School of Economics and University of Cambridge), TASMAC (University of Wales), two Wigan & Leigh Colleges (Wigan & Leigh College, U.K), all in Bangalore. The Mangalore-based Nitte Institute of Catering Studies and Hotel Administration and Moti Mahal College of Hotel Management have a tie-up with AHLA, U.S.
In collaboration with Coventry University, M.S. Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies offers M.Sc engineering courses in Competitive Manufacturing, Manufacturing Management, Automotive Engineering, Communication Manufacturing, Digital Signal and Image Processing, Micro Electromechanical Systems, Smart System Design, VLSI System Design, New Product Design, Rotating Machinery Design and Real Time Embedded Systems.
Besides library and registration charges, the fee for Automotive Engineering and Manufacturing Management is Rs. 2.40 lakh and for other courses Rs. 1.65 lakh. Classes start in September for full-time students and in April for part-time students. The duration of some courses is 12 months and others 18 months for full-time students; it is double that for part-timers.
Wigan & Leigh College offers a two-year PG Diploma in Business Management, dealing with marketing, finance, human resource, advertising and communication. The fee is Rs. 50,000 per semester.
Employees of Infosys and Wipro are undergoing courses in this institute, says Christopher Johnson, Manager, Corporate Relations of the college. The foreign degree providers are popular because they are providing market-oriented short duration programmes.
Mallya Aditi International School is offering a Diploma in Professional Studies in Education for in-service teachers. The duration of the course is 18 months and the fee is Rs 1.80 lakh. Presidency College of Hotel Management admits students for the two-year diploma course and the fee is Rs. 2.19 lakh. The AHLA has designed the course and provides the certificate, says Ananda Reddy, Principal of the college.
These institutes have a good placement record. Experts say the tie-up with the foreign institutes help the Indian partners to be professional in the teaching process.
The NIEPA has said a regulatory body is needed to monitor the overall operation of education providers in India.
NAGESH PRABHU
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