The University Grants Commission (UGC) has urged all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) and their affiliated colleges to adopt and implement the new guidelines for providing admissions to international students, which they framed on July 29, 2021. The purpose of framing such guidelines is to facilitate smooth and easy admission of international students to higher educational institutions in India. The UGC had framed the fresh guidelines for admission and creation of supernumerary seats for international students.
The UGC framed guidelines for the Indian higher education system to develop a conducive environment to attract international students and to make India a preferred destination for international students. “All higher educational institutions and affiliated colleges/institutions are requested to adopt and implement the above guidelines for admission of international students and supernumerary seats in a transparent manner,” the UGC said in a statement.
The UGC guidelines state that Indian HEIs may admit international students based on the equivalence of entry qualifications held by them. HEIs are directed to adopt a transparent admission process for admitting international students. “HEIs may create up to 25 per cent supernumerary seats for international students, over and above of their total sanctioned enrolment for Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) programmes. The decision regarding 25 per cent supernumerary seats has to be carried out by the concerned higher educational institutions as per specific guidelines/regulations issued by the regulatory bodies considering the infrastructure, faculty and other requirements,” UGC stated in its guidelines.
The UGC has also directed the HEI to develop an ‘Office for International Students’ which should contain year-wise details of international students such as their country, number, programme/subject and duration. HEIs are also directed to mention on their websites the details regarding number of seats available for international students in each programme, fee prescribed for the same, admission procedure, eligibility conditions on their website.
The UGC has framed the guidelines in accordance with the National Education policy (NEP 2020). “Internationalisation of higher education is an essential aspect of the NEP 2020. The need to internationalise certain aspects of higher education, while making all higher education relevant internationally has been a major area of focus. Internationalisation of higher education is the process of integrating an international and intercultural dimension in higher education. Opportunities to attract international students, academics and funding are growing and many Indian Higher Educational institutions (HEIs) are now committed to increase their international outreach,” it added.
