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India plans welcome for
foreign universities
WSN Network
NEW DELHI: The Indian Government is
considering a proposal of the United States Chief Executive Officers
Forum to set up an SEZ for higher and vocational education on trial
basis. The CEO Forum has recommended that the SEZ be established on
trial basis to bring about liberalization of education.
American universities attract a huge number of Indian students every
year, the most from any single country There are currently about
80,000 Indians studying in US universities with about 50,000 more
joining their ranks every year.
The CEO Forum pitched the idea to top government functionaries like
Finance Minister E Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath,
Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and Commerce Secretary G.K.
Pillai at a meeting in New York on September 24, as per a report in
a national Indian daily. At the meeting, it was also decided that
the US India Education Roundtable would examine the SEZ issue and
make appropriate recommendations to the government.
The Commerce Ministry had earlier recommended the setting up of an
SEZ for higher education, with the focus on FEPs. It was suggested
that these SEZs give education providers huge relaxation.
The roundtable will also prepare proposals for improving linkages
between Indian and US varsities. A delegation of heads of US
universities had visited India last year and conducted a series of
meeting with vice-chancellors here, but none offered to set up
campuses in India.
The reason: stringent laws. On its part, the Indian CEO Forum,
headed by Ratan Tata, has recommended joint research in the areas of
allopathy as well as alternative systems of medicine. The proposal
will be considered under the bilateral education initiative, it was
decided.
24 October, 2007
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