University Grants Commission has approved the guidelines for the admission and supernumerary seats for International Students in Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes in Higher Education Institutions in India.
Other than the total sanctioned enrollment for UG and PG programmes, HEIs might create up to 25 per cent supernumerary seats for international students.
The decision was made during the 560th Meeting of the University Grants Commission held on 18th August. UGC Chairman Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar said, internationalisation of higher education is an essential aspect of the National Education Policy 2020 and helps in integrating the international and intercultural dimensions in higher education.
It must be noted that as many as 10 per cent of the seats are reserved for foreign nationals across IITs. These seats are supernumerary in number, implying that they are in addition to the existing seats. As per a report in Economic Times, through the guideline approved by UGC for addition of supernumerary seats across colleges in India, international students will be enrolled in a transparent admission process and they will not have to follow the entrance procedure used for admissions in India.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisages a new and forward-looking vision for India’s higher education system. It sets the foundation for the much-needed transformation and overhaul of the current education system through its focus on key issues like access, equity, multidisciplinarity, and holistic and value-based education.
Internationalization of higher education is an essential aspect of the National Education Policy 2020 and helps in integrating the international and intercultural dimensions in higher education.”
Opportunities to attract international students, academics and funding are growing and many Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are now committed to increasing their international outreach. In order to facilitate the internationalisation of Indian HEIs, the University Grants Commission has framed the guidelines for the admission and the creation of supernumerary seats for international students.
The equivalence is to be determined by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or any other body recognised by UGC for such purpose or the concerned regulatory bodies of the country. HEIs may adopt a transparent admission process for admitting international students.
The 25 per cent of the supernumerary seats for international students will not include the international students under exchange programmes or/and through Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between institutions or between the government of India and other countries.
Depending on the availability of infrastructure and qualified faculty, efforts should be made to distribute these 25 per cent seats among all departments, schools, centres or any other academic unit of the higher educational institution, wherever possible.
The supernumerary seats shall be exclusively meant for international students both in the Undergraduate and Post-graduate programmes. A seat that remained unfilled in the supernumerary category, shall not be allocated to anyone other than an international student. International students in this context shall be defined as the ones who shall possess a foreign passport.
The provision of creating supernumerary seats for international students should be formalized by way of approval of the statutory body/bodies of the HEIs in accordance with the guidelines/regulations issued by the regulatory bodies from time to time
Supernumerary seats for PhD programmes shall be governed by the Regulations notified by the University Grants Commission from time to time in this regard.
All HEIs shall have an ‘Office for International Affairs’. This office will be responsible for undertaking various activities such as (a) To disseminate information related to the admission process among prospective foreign students, (b) To coordinate all matters relating to welcoming and supporting foreign students, (c) To engage in promotional activities and brand building campaign abroad, (d) To address the grievances of foreign students in all matters, (e) To facilitate networking with fellow students, (f) To extend all possible help to the foreign students to adapt to the new cultural environment and make their stay in India comfortable and enriching, (g) Single point contact for registration with FRRO/e-FRRO, (h) Single point contact for carrying out all collaborative activities with foreign institutions, and (i) Act as a liaison body between the foreign students and the sponsoring agency.
Year-wise details, i.e., country, number of students admitted in each programme/subject, duration of the programme etc., regarding the international students in the HEI be maintained by it and made available on their website.
All details regarding the number of seats available for international students in each programme, fee prescribed for the same, admission process, eligibility conditions etc. shall be made available on the website of the HEI.
