Looking at new vistas

Updated on: Monday, September 20, 2010

Despite the twists and turns being taken by the foreign universities Bill, a lot of varsities seem to be interested in opening up their operations in India. The education landscape is due to change and most foreign universities can sense this. The HRD Ministry is hoping this move will stem the tide of students leaving India to pursue higher education abroad as they would be able to get the same quality of education in India. “This will enhance choices, increase competition, and benchmark quality,” Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said.

With the sector poised to open up, American Center Director, Anne Grimes said that American universities were looking to expand operations in India, “a country which sends the most number of students to study in the US.” Grimes went on to say that, after the opening up of the education sector in India, she had “already been approached by a group in the US who were looking at educational initiatives in India. There are a number of universities who have an interest in India like the University of Chicago,” she said adding that the University of Columbia was planning something in Mumbai and the University of Illinois wante to begin its alumni association in India.

“India has the highest number of foreign students in the United States which is around 1,03,000,” Grimes said adding that the five posts of the US in India, including consulates in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad together process 6,00,000 visa applications annually of which more than two thirds are issued visas. “Nearly 20 per cent of the visas issued from India are for students,” she added.

Grimes went on to add that the US had initiated a slew of measures to step up their consular operations so that there “is not so much of waiting time to get a visa.’’

Looking at new vistas

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