UGC forms panel to set rules to provide equivalence to foreign varsity degrees

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has constituted a three-member committee to prepare guidelines on the basis of which academic equivalence will be provided to degrees offered by foreign universities with the degrees offered by their Indian counterparts, officials said on Tuesday.

The move comes in the backdrop of the government allowing foreign universities to set up their campuses in India, including in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), and also making a provision for them to collaborate with Indian universities to offer joint, double and twin degrees. The decisions are being taken as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

So far, the Union ministry of education has entrusted the Association of Indian universities (AIU), an organisation of major universities in India, with the charge to issue equivalence certificates to students who completed their schooling or higher education from foreign boards and universities.

However, once the guidelines are formulated, UGC will take over the responsibility and will provide equivalence from now on.

UGC chairperson Jagadesh Kumar said, “UGC has formed a committee consisting of experts to come up with recommendations on how academic equivalence should be given to two degrees post NEP 2020 era. The committee will take about four weeks. The recommendations will be put in public for stakeholders’ feedback. They will then be approved by the commission and they will become regulations for equivalence of degrees. The UGC will take over the charge of providing equivalence from now on.”

Kumar said that the commission is focussing on developing a stakeholder friendly online process for equivalence certificates. “For instance, in GIFT city foreign universities will come and set up their campuses and our Indian students will pursue degrees there. So, when they apply for another degree or job in India, the Indian institutions will like to know whether that degree given by the foreign institution is equivalent to our degrees,” he said.

This year’s union budget opened the doors for foreign universities to set up campuses in GIFT city. In April, the UGC formed a committee to come up with regulations to allow foreign higher education institutes, placed among the top 500 globally, to set up campuses in India,

During the budget session in March, the government informed Lok Sabha that two foreign higher education institutes, including Milan-based institute of fashion and design, Istituto Marangoni, and another based out of France are interested in setting up campuses in India.