The fact that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has simplified its approval process for local universities to collaborate with their counterparts abroad, to offer joint degrees, dual degrees, and twinning programmes, is heartening. As per the rules, any Indian Higher Education Institution (HEI) accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a minimum score of 3.01 on a 4-point scale or featuring in the top 1,000 of the Times Higher Education or QS World University Rankings will be eligible to participate in the collaboration. For Indian institutes, being in the top 100 list of the National Institute Ranking Framework is also an acceptable criterion. Foreign institutes willing to enter a partnership must rank in the top 1,000 in either of the two world university rankings.

While multiple steps taken by the present dispensation to meet the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic include leveraging the potential of information and communication technology in the teaching and learning process, the fact that the UGC’s regulations do not allow academic collaboration with foreign institutions for online learning and open and distance learning (ODL) is puzzling.

In order to increase the gross enrolment ratio in HEIs in India, the National Education Policy of 2020 suggested that more ODL and online programmes be started, especially to improve access for those living in remote areas. ODL programmes impart education to people for whom the regular mode of learning is a distant dream owing to financial, personal and professional constraints. Often, part-time employees in both the organised and unorganised sectors are the ones who opt for ODL in order to upgrade their qualifications for better career prospects.

At the postgraduate, undergraduate, PG Diploma, Diploma, and Certificate levels, the share of distance enrolment in university is 13.8%, 35.9%, 1.1%, 1.5% and 0.4%, respectively (All India Survey on Higher Education, or AISHE, 2019-2000). Distance enrolment constitutes 11.1% of the total enrolment in higher education. These programmes are more affordable compared to the in-person programmes and are therefore popular among disadvantaged sections.

In order to promote online education in India, initiatives such as MOOCs, SWAYAM and NPTEL are sponsored by the UGC, the Department of Education, and other national institutes of repute. Of late, universities and colleges are centrally funded under the RUSA and TEQIP-III programmes to create and strengthen infrastructure for online and digital education. The Union Budget too announced the establishment of a digital university. It is inexplicable, therefore, that while online education is being encouraged on the one hand through several government initiatives, online programmes are being kept out of the ambit of international collaboration efforts by the UGC on the other.

According to AISHE’s findings, 49,348 international students from 168 countries are enrolled in courses offered by Indian universities. The highest share of foreign students (45.6%) come from four neighbouring nations: Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Reaching out to the HEIs of such countries for international collaboration, notwithstanding their present standing and rank, will pave the way for an increase in the footfall of international students in India. This may especially prove to be a game changer for the financially constrained HEIs. Also, it will help to compensate the outflow of foreign exchange from India.

The allocation of grants to central universities has risen to ₹9,420 crore from ₹7,643.26 crore last year in higher education. Monetary support to the IITs has increased by ₹658.9 crore and to the IIMs by ₹177.9 crore in 2022-23 compared to last year. These institutions, generously funded by the Centre, outplay their State-sponsored counterparts in other academic indicators too, such as faculty strength and modernised laboratories and libraries. Hence, that State-funded HEIs do not perform well in the ranking system is no surprise. Now, their chances for smooth international collaboration is also impeded by the UGC regulations. This will only exacerbate the divide between central and State institutes.

The UGC needs to revisit its policies for foreign collaborations. It must look at the present and overall needs of the education system so that students studying in State-sponsored HEIs and opting for ODL and online education are not deprived of benefits in India.

Milind Kumar Sharma teaches in the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, MBM University, Jodhpur. Views are personal

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