Foreign education bill likely in current session of Parliament: Sibal

Updated on: Wednesday, August 03, 2011

The proposed legislation to allow foreign education providers to set up campuses in India will "hopefully" be introduced during the current session of Parliament, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said.

"The draft of the Foreign Education Providers Bill was cleared by the standing committee. Hopefully in this session we will introduce it (Bill), so that it can be passed quickly," he said.

Early passage of the Bill will pave the way for the foreign education providers to come to India from the next academic session, he told reporters after the inaugural session of Australia-India Education Council here.

"We decided in April 2008 to set-up an Australia-India Education Council and that dream has been realised today. This is the inaugural meeting of the Council. The interaction of vice-chancellors is going to be an annual event," Sibal said.

The delegation, led by Senator Chris Evans, comprised 15 vice-chancellors from different universities in Australia, including Premier of South Australia Mike Ran.

About the Indo-Australian collaboration, Sibal said, "Essentially we are talking about collaboration in the field of education. We must have certain parameters which are common to both the jurisdictions (in India and Australia)."

Terming mobility of students as key to any successful collaboration between the two countries, the Minister said the two sides agreed on a number of issues during the bilateral talks.

He said student mobility can be ensured only if there is assurance regarding quality of education and if qualifications are recognised. Otherwise, he said, such mobility cannot take place.

About the issues under discussion with the Australian delegation, Sibal said, "A whole range of issues were discussed between the vice-chancellors to ensure that quality education is imparted in the university system to allow student mobility."

This is not about generality but about putting in place a framework through which student mobility will happen in years to come, he said.

"The other area where both countries are extremely keen to collaborate is in the area of vocation... In an aging population, countries will need young people with skills and quality to immigrate to those countries. India can provide as a center for such quality human resource," he said.

Looking forward to expand Indo-Australian education partnership to other areas, Sibal said, "Australia perhaps is minerally the richest country in the world. We need a lot of skill in that area. That is another area where both sides are willing to move forward."

Praising the Australian education system, he said, "Australia has a wonderful qualification framework. We are in the process of setting up a national vocational education qualification framework which will be launched this year."

Replying to queries on security concerns of Indian students in Australia, Sibal said, "We had a full fledged discussion on the issues that are impacting Indian students and have impacted in the past the Indian students going to Australia."

Expressing his satisfaction over the steps taken by Australian government, he said, "We are happy that Australian government is taking specific steps in order to take care of their (Indian students) security and have put systems in place and are addressing the issue in a very proactive manner."

Senator Evans, when asked about security of students from India, said, "We have put in place measures and have worked hard with the Indian High Commissions to address the issue. I think Indian government may rest assured by the range of measures taken by us."

Stressing that the experience of a vast majority of Indian students in Australia is positive, Evans said, "I can assure that Indian students will have a welcoming experience."

On actions initiated by his government against universities with dubious credentials, he said, "We have been at pains to address that and have passed legislations for better protection of the students."

Australia has 39 Universities established by legislation and none of those have collapsed. The University sector is publicly backed and supported by the statute and is very stable and successful, he said.

Foreign education bill likely in current session of Parliament: Sibal

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