Encouraging more foreign students in Indian colleges
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed higher educational institutions in India to create up to 25% supernumerary seats for foreign students and has released guidelines for transparent admissions and support services for them
In a move aimed at promoting the internationalisation of Indian higher educational institutions (HEIs), the University Grants Commission (UGC) has reiterated guidelines mandating the reservation of supernumerary seats for international students which had originally been released in September 2022.
Under the new guidelines, HEIs have been directed to allocate up to 25% supernumerary seats for international students. However, the decision to implement this quota rests with individual institutions, taking into account factors such as infrastructure and faculty availability.
Supernumerary seats are additional seats that are over and above the sanctioned intake approved by the appropriate authority and the government.
The reserved supernumerary seats are exclusively designated for international students, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. They will exclude those participating in exchange programmes. If any remain vacant, they will be allocated exclusively to international students.
HEIs are instructed to admit international students based on the equivalence of their entry qualifications. A transparent admission process is encouraged to ensure fairness and accessibility for international applicants.
According to official notifications, international students are those who possess foreign passports. This definition ensures clarity in identifying eligible candidates for the reserved seats.
Meanwhile, UGC has issued a directive to all higher education institutions, instructing them to refrain from admitting foreign nationals into open and distance learning (ODL) programmes.
The notice underscored the eligibility criteria specified in Annexure III of the UGC regulations, limiting enrolment to learners residing in India.
In adherence to regulation 23 of the UGC, ODL Programmes and Online Programmes Regulations, 2020, the Commission emphasised that learners residing within India are permitted to enrol in ODL programmes.
Also, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also said student visas cannot be granted to international students funded by franchise educational institutes, off-campus centres, or study centres of open universities offering distance learning programmes. This restriction extends to outreach programmes and courses lacking regulatory sanctions.
Reportedly, a total of 46,878 foreign nationals/students from 170 nations across the world are enrolled in various courses in India.
The All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) conducted by the Union Education Ministry surveyed a total of 1,162 universities, 42,825 colleges and 10,576 stand-alone institutions to give the above figure.
The report is based on the intensive study of higher education institutions in the country based on multiple parameters like enrolment of students across various disciplines, infrastructural and financial information, data regarding teachers, among others.
According to the AISHE 2021-22 report, a total of 46,878 foreign nationals/students from 170 nations across the world are enrolled in various courses in India.
Among the foreign nationals that are enrolled, the majority of students are from Nepal, followed by Afghanistan. There were 2893 students from the United States, 2606 from Bangladesh and 2287 from the UAE, according to the latest report from the AISHE report.
“The highest number of foreign students are enrolled in Undergraduate courses (74.8%) followed by Post Graduate courses (15.8%),” said the AISHE report.
As per the figures stated in the report, 11882 female and 23204 male foreign national students were enrolled in various Undergraduate courses in India. For Postgraduate courses, 2444 female and 4972 male foreign national students were enrolled in the country.
The report also mentions that 13 programmes had more than 1000 foreign student enrolment of which the highest number of students were enrolled in the Engineering, Business Administration and Science courses.
