New legislation to bring foreign education to India: President

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today said a legislation would be put in place to allow foreign educational institutions to enter the country’s higher education and vocational training sector.

“The government is endeavouring to bring forward an appropriate legislation for facilitating the participation of globally renowned and quality academic institutions in our higher education sector, and for bringing in foreign education providers for vocational training and skill development,” Patil said in her address to Parliament today.

The move will give push to the introduction of the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations, Maintenance of Quality and Prevention of Commercialisation) Bill, which will permit the entry of foreign institutions in the education sector.

Lat November, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had met presidents and other representatives of premier Harvard, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Boston University, among others, who were keen to set up campuses in India or have reciprocal arrangements with universities here.

Moreover, to regulate higher education in India, she said, “A National Council for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) will soon be established as an overarching body to regulate higher education and research in India.”

Recently, the ministry announced a draft legislation to create the NCHER that will replace the existing statutory bodies — the University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education and National Council for Teacher Education. Overall, an amount of Rs 85,000 crore has been provided for the expansion of higher education facilities during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).

Patil also said the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 has been notified and will be effective from April 1, 2010.

The Act provides for free and compulsory education to all children between six and fourteen years.

Reiterating the government’s focus on expansion, inclusion and excellence in education, she said: “The government has made substantial investments in primary education through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the mid-day meal programme, and is moving towards universalisation of education at the secondary level with the new Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).”