One of the strongest arguments in favor of these institutions is accessibility. Studying in countries such as the UK, US or Australia can involve enormous expenses once tuition, accommodation, travel, insurance and other living costs are considered. Foreign campuses in India can reduce several of these expenses while allowing students to earn degrees carrying the name of established international universities.
For families who cannot comfortably finance four years overseas or bypass sticky visa requirements, this can be an attractive compromise. Students may also benefit from international curricula, visiting faculty, exchange opportunities and connections with the universities’ overseas campuses. Most of the courses offered though stick within the realm of areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, financial technology and business analytics, which are increasingly important in the Indian employment market.
Simultaneously, these universities have announced substantial scholarship programs, in order to give an early fillip to admissions. This could help equalize the field for students from marginalized backgrounds, for whom these doors might have remained closed otherwise.
There is also a broader economic argument. India sends hundreds of thousands of students abroad every year, resulting in substantial foreign-exchange outflows. If some of these students choose to study at international campuses within India, part of that expenditure could remain in the domestic economy. The campuses could also generate employment, encourage international academic partnerships and create opportunities for research and industry collaboration.
Their presence may also force certain laggardly Indian universities to up their game, updating outdated curricula and teaching methods. International universities could introduce different teaching methods, stronger industry engagement and greater emphasis on research and practical learning.
And yet, critics are wary.
They point out that simply carrying the name of an international university doesn’t automatically guarantee an equal quality of education. A large part of overseas education includes access to a very particular international mixture of students on campus, a wide range of extracurricular activities, possibly larger libraries, and a wider range of subjects taught. Besides, dare we say it, an international campus comes with its own freedoms. Laboratories, libraries, student societies, sports, cultural activities, international peers, alumni networks and research communities all come together to mould a student’s education.
This is especially true for fees. Some foreign-campus programmes from Indian institutes can cost tens of lakhs of rupees. While they can sometimes offer a better value proposition than studying abroad, they can still work out to be significantly more expensive than comparable programmes at home. Students will have to weigh the value of the global brand against the premium fees, and many may drop out altogether.
A career outlook is equally pertinent. While a foreign degree may look good on paper, in practice it’s the skills, internships, experience and performance that matter most to recruiters. The new campus does not have an established alumni network or domestic placement track-record, resulting in promising students left by the wayside.
Besides, most of the universities offer subjects that stick to safe, commercially attractive fields such as management, computing, finance and technology. In India, these subjects are naturally in high demand, but the true test of education comes when the student has the option of choosing from the sciences, commercial fields as well as the arts.
The government also hopes that foreign universities will help make India an international education hub. Still, for a country to become an international education destination it needs to offer infrastructure,Mayes, but also academic freedom, safety, value and an environment conducive to intellectual exchange. Just plonking down a foreign flag in India does not automatically make it a global education hub.
Ultimately, foreign universities in India are an opportunity and an experiment. They allow cheaper access to overseas education, offer different pedagogical models, strengthen industry ties and provide competition. However, their ultimate success will not be measured in the mere number of campuses or degrees granted. It will be measured in whether students receive an education comparable the international reputation of the university, if its graduates find jobs in India, if research flourishes at these campuses, and if they provide accessibility and value to a country used to elitism when it comes to higher education.
India does not need more foreign university brand names in its education system. It needs superior education, research and academic opportunity. If the new institutions enrich Indian higher education and act as catalysts for improvement in domestic universities, their arrival could prove to be an important moment for India. But if they represent merely expensive outposts offering little in the way of genuine academic experience or career advancement opportunities, then the excitement around them may fade quickly.
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