Indian universities to set up campuses in probable locations, African and Gulf countries, Thailand, Vietnam: UGC Chief

According to UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar, African and Gulf countries, Thailand, and Vietnam are among the probable locations for Indian universities to establish their offshore campuses. The regulations for these campuses are ready and would be released in a month.

In an interview with PTI, Kumar stated that a number of nations are stepping forward to offer infrastructure to Indian colleges looking to establish campuses abroad, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) would assist the institutions in choosing the nations where they can do so.

"We have in India a huge university ecosystem. There are outstanding universities, both in central government and state government-funded, and private universities," Kumar said.

"We want to encourage these varsities to set up their campuses abroad. A few countries are coming forward to provide the infrastructure to our universities to set up their campus," he said.

"We have countries where we have large Indian diaspora who want our campuses to come and provide education," the UGC chairman said. Kumar said that "many African countries" had shown interest in hosting Indian universities.

"There is huge potential for setting up campuses in African countries. Thailand, Vietnam and a few Gulf countries... there is immense interest and the opportunities are immense too. It is



just that we have not had any enabling regulations so far," he added.

The Middle-East and South Asian nations have been requesting a number of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to establish their campuses in their countries, the UGC chairman said.

IIT Madras is looking into opportunities in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Tanzania, while IIT Delhi is considering opening a campus in the United Arab Emirates. Moreover, IIT campuses are planned for Egypt, Thailand, Malaysia, and the UK.

"IITs are known as institutions of national importance, they function under IIT Council. It has its own rules and regulations under which they can set up their own campuses. Already some IITs are working on that," Kumar said.

Last month, the UGC stated that foreign institutions would be able to establish campuses in India for the first time and revealed draught regulations that would allow these universities to control their admissions policies, fee schedules, and money repatriation.

According to Kumar, the final rules, which will take into account the views from stakeholders, would also be released in a month.

"This regulation of UGC to bring the campuses of foreign educational institutions in India is widely discussed in our country because of the possible advantages that can bring to our students," Kumar said.