THE FOREIGN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

The Union Cabinet cleared the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010, paving the way for its initiation in Parliament. The city professors, parents, and students were asked whether this would decrease the number of students opting for a foreign degree from abroad. Heres what they had to say about studying abroad in Indian soil. The opening of foreign universities in India will definitely be a boon for those who want to get a foreign degree but cannot afford to study abroad. Yet I feel the university name will not be sufficient. The percentage of admission in these foreign universities will depend upon their performance in India as well. The students and parents will and must ensure quality before opting into these universities. The foreign universities will have to prove themselves in India first, and then the students will start believing in them here. The foreign universities that are situated in their own countries have far more regulations than they will have here in India. Therefore, they will have a tough job wooing the minds of students to opt a foreign degree in India instead of from abroad! Foreign universities opening their campuses here in India will be a blessing in disguise for the parents. Monetarily it will benefit parents who dream of a foreign degree for their child but cannot afford it. Getting ones child admitted to a foreign university in India will rid them of the accommodation and other extra costs. If we parents find the same facilities that foreign universities provide abroad, here in India then we will definitely not opt out. This way parents can be rid of the constant anxiety of their children living away from their hometown, at the same time obtain the facility of studying abroad in Indian soil for their children. The facilities that we get abroad vis--vis the study material, the atmosphere, and specially the practical knowledge will be missing even if the foreign universities reallocate their campus to India. In MBA specially, we will not get the proper industrial knowledge that is necessary for the progress in our respective genre of profession. Hence, getting a foreign degree in Indian soil will not benefit us much. A foreign university opening their campus in India will be a good decision for students with limited means. Their far-fetched dream to get a foreign degree will now be given at least a thought by their parents. However, a drawback will be that the campus here will not match those abroad due to the basic infrastructure of India. The students who will opt for a foreign degree from the Indian soil will have less scope to flourish as those getting it from abroad. The foreign universities have many added facilities there due to the basic infrastructure as well as many scopes like practical knowledge. Just branching out of a

campus here in India will not shake the determination of students willing to opt for a foreign degree abroad. I do not think it will affect the percentage of students studying abroad each year very greatly. Studying in another country is more of a status symbol now. It depicts class, parents and students love to flaunt it, hence those who want, will still step outside the country to get the same foreign degree from another country. They will not opt for the foreign degree from India.