Foreign Universities in India: Boon or Bane?

 

 

Dr. Partha S Mohapatra
(Originally written in March, 2010)

 

The cabinet yesterday gave its nod to the “Foreign Universities Bill”. I first read the report on Wall Street Journal about the Indian Governments’ intention to open up the higher education sector to foreign universities [Delhi Seeks to Admit Foreign Universities,  Wall Street Journal June 11, 2009].  Subsequently, I read similar reports in other newspapers.  Most of these reports make a compelling story to allow foreign universities to operate in India. The main argument that is made is on following premises:

i)      It will save India about $4 billion in foreign exchange [“Leading foreign institutes may soon be here” Economic Times , 11 Sep 2006”].

ii)    India loses because of brain drain when brilliant people go abroad and study and stay there.

iii)   We need foreign investments because the government does not have money needed to invest in higher education and private sector is unwilling to invest in education

iv)   Top ranking universities will come to India

v)    Research will increase in various disciplines, and we will have more Noble Prize winners!!

 

              However, I differ from these reports because these arguments are not looking at higher education in a holistic way, but instead are based on bits and pieces of data and information. My contention is that, unless, we globalize education with restraints, the objectives stated above may not be fulfilled.

 

Economic benefits: The argument that India will save $4 billion dollars looks into the “outflow” of dollars because of students going abroad. We don't have information about how many students are taking loans and repaying it, and how many are getting full scholarships to study abroad. If we do an analysis of educational loans, we would learn that many banks have been giving loans  of Rs. 15 lacs or more  to study abroad.  Most of these loans are  repaid,  and  they are repaid when the student is working in the foreign country. Thus, a sizeable amount  “inflows” back as loan and interest repayment. There is another important “inflow” because of students going abroad.  India topped the remittances from foreign countries in year 2008 [“Ministry Seeks safety net for NRI workers”, The Economic Times, 29^th July, 2009.]. A total of $43.5 billion was sent to India from foreign countries by Indians staying in foreign countries. This constitutes about 3.3% of out total GDP. Out of this the total remittances coming from gulf countries (where most of it come from skilled laborers), is about $18 billion. The rest of it comes from countries like US and UK. That amounts to $25.5 billion dollars.  Why is that Indian remittances were comparable to that of Mexico ($26 billions), which has higher number of emigrants outside Mexico? The reason is simple: Indians enter into higher education in developed countries like USA, and then stay there to work in white collar professions.  Then, they remit back to India generously. If proper economic analysis is made, I am sure that India gets more ' inflow” because of the 'outflow' of $4billion that is spent by Indians abroad!!

Put as a simple inequation:

(Annual Remittances from foreign educated students) plus (Annual scholarships earned) plus (Annual Loans and Interests paid back)             >> $4Billion spent by Indians to study abroad                                                

 

Brain Drain of top-notch researches (and employment): Allowing students to study in foreign universities in India cannot stop Brain drain. Only providing appropriate opportunities in India to talented researchers can stop brain drain. Researchers want adequate facilities, and adequate funding to do research, so that they can publish their findings in top journals like Nature and Science. Most  health related research in US universities are heavily funded by NIH (National Institute of Health). Professors from Johns Hopkins University, Harvard etc. get billions of dollars as grants from government Institutions like NIH. So, Indian government has to realize the importance of funding basic research. If the same level of funding is available to existing IISc, IITs, or AIIMs, we can sure make an equal impact and we can stop the brain drain. Until then, allowing foreign universities without research funding cannot stop brain drain. There are many researchers who have given up money, and stayed in premier Institutions like IISc., and IIMs because they love India and are happy with the research opportunities provided.  Unfortunately, the government by not giving enough autonomy to these institutions, is encouraging brain drain and restricting reverse brain drain.  If brain drain can be stopped by having Indians study in India, then why do we have so many Indians who got Masters and PhDs in India, working in reputed labs in US and UK?  Do you think Dr. Venkataraman Ramakrishnan (Nobel Prize Winner 2009) will move to India when UC-San Diego starts a Masters program in Delhi??

 

Large Investments required for higher education only in certain areas : Most of the universities that have shown interest, want to start courses that have minimal requirement for infrastructure? For example, Duke university has shown interest to start the MBA program in India. Similarly, Schulich School of Business, New Castle Business School, International Management Institute-Europe,  Ohio University-Business School, Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Management [ see “Foreign Education Bill may get Cabinet nod this week,” Business Standard, September 15, 2009] are interested in setting up a campus in Mumbai. What is the cost of starting a MBA or Hotel management program? Very little. As compared to that, starting courses in basic sciences, core engineering (like Material Science), and Medical and health education would require large investments. In the last few years, we have found that given the right autonomy and opportunity, we can gather enough funds for an International MBA School like Indian School of Business. Why do we then need foreign investments in these areas?  However, we do need foreign investments in critical areas like Medical and Health Education, Biochemistry, and Basic Sciences education. We also lack enough expertise in these critical areas.  Are foreign universities willing to start these courses in India? Can we have Johns Hopkins Medical School or Harvard Medical School in India?

Why not the Chinese Model?: Why is that China has few foreign universities? China is doing economically much better than India, and still hasn’t allowed foreign universities in China, the way Indian government is planning to do.  The world-class Chinese universities (like Peking University) that have improved their international ranking in the last decade are home grown universities. China, has even allowed private Chinese universities to be set up. But, it is still cagey about allowing foreign universities, and the few it has done has been under strict supervision. China itself has become a destination country for international students (see article “Canada and China Discuss Growing Opportunities for Education Ties,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov 8-2009), and there are about 13,000 students from US studying in China. China is also trying to reverse brain drain by attracting top talent to its local universities giving them facilities and infrastructure needed for their research. Thus, it has been able to attract Nobel Prize winning physicists, economists, and top-researchers are being attracted to join the Chinese universities (see China: Attract Talent First, and Outstanding Universities Will Follow,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct 5-2009). Instead of allowing foreign universities, China decided to infuse billions of dollars into its local universities. Under a project called 985 project, they provided about 125 million USD to each of the ten leading Chinese universities to attract outstanding researchers and build cutting-edge research centers. In 2004 this project was extended to 30 universities. The results of this infusion and futuristic approach is now visible. 

             

Singapore has allowed foreign universities, but allows them after stringent scrutiny (case to case basis). Johns Hopkins, the number one medical school in USA was allowed to operate a biomedical research facility in Singapore.  However, the Singapore govt. decided to close it because it did not meet research and educational goals[“Johns Hopkins' Singapore center to close,” Boston Globe, July 25, 2006]. Can we implement such stringent standards for the foreign universities that we are trying to attract? More important, the home-grown universities in Singapore have proven to be better (e.g. National University of Singapore and Nanyang University) because they were allowed autonomy at par with foreign universities.  One of these successful collaboration model is the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. Several hundred Professors, post-doctoral scholars, and students from MIT and Singapore sit within the campus of National University of Singapore, and tackled infectious diseases, environmental modeling, and biomedical research [see Singapore: Teaming with Foreign universities for Innovation, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct 9-2009]. However, in a recent volte-face, the Indian government has said that “ foreign institutes coming here would be considered on par with private unaided universities” [ “Foreign university education in India to be cheaper,” Times of India, September 13, 2009.]. This would mean that universities like Phoenix Online, Sullivan University, Goucher College, Sojourner-Douglass College and many low quality universities will set shop in India to churn money ( and the government will facilitate their setups!!). Recent reports suggest that universities like Harvard, Cambridge, George Washington University, have decided against setting up campuses in India (US Colleges say no for setting up campuses in India, Siliconindia.com 13 January 2010). 

 

Liberalization before Globalization, Level playing field: We have reputed universities like IIMs/IITs. The government has taken the  right decision in starting a few more.  However, more important is that we should allow new private universities and give them same autonomy & freedom that the foreign universities are seeking.  We need to allow these universities to grow, and be able compete internationally. We have seen that given the right environment, Indian universities can compete globally. One prime example is the Indian School of Business at Hyderabad. Within a span of less than a decade, the school became a top-20 school globally as per Financial Times report.  We need to provide more autonomy to IIMs and IITs. Recently, the IIM-A director Dr. Sameer Barua, expressed concern about the lack of autonomy provided to IIMs and IITs. Let these Institutes decide on the faculty salaries, infrastructure, and courses. Why stifle them, and then allow the foreign universities in to 'gulp' them? Let the playing field be level before you allow foreign universities to India.  By allowing foreign universities at this juncture, (when our economy is better than a decade back), we are also stifling our ability to have world-class university like Harvard or MIT of our own.  How fair is it to allow foreign universities to have no reservation and stifle our universities with reservation quotas?

 

Why governments in US, UK are now pushing for opening up the higher education sector : Each year about 90,000-100,000 students go to US only, and many of them decide to stay there. US and UK governments are facing flak because of high immigration which is increasing their population and straining their infrastructure.  Recent measures by these governments show that, these countries are trying to curb immigration from countries like India. UK for example is reviewing the student visa system which will make rules stricter for overseas students. The new points based system would ensure that only top brains from countries like India are allowed to stay in UK. However, universities in US and UK need Indian students to survive. The only way to have “best of both worlds.” is to set up their own campuses in India, conduct their profitable courses, and rake in the dollars converted from rupees!!

 

I have strong reservations about allowing foreign universities at a point when economy is gaining steam, when we are gaining the ability to invest in higher education, when our local universities are propping up their heads, and when private players are willing to invest in higher education. However, if for some reasons, foreign universities are allowed, I suggest the following steps be undertaken before allowing foreign universities to operate in India.

 

1.    A commission made of economists, sociologists, and educationists should be set up to do a study of how foreign universities impacted countries like Singapore. They should also study how these countries made sure that only quality universities are allowed. The economic impact needs to be studied in terms of remittances and employability of these educated students.

 

2.    Programs, that require huge investments, but are strategic, should be given more priority. For example, programs in Biotechnology, Medical Sciences, Core Sciences, and Engineering would require much more investment and hence these programs should be given priority. Universities like Johns Hopkins, UCLA, and others who are more competent in these fields should be first invited to open their campuses in India. Similarly, programs in which India has less competence (like Transportation Engineering) should be given priority too.

 

3. Unfortunately, reputed universities like Harvard, Yale and Cambridge have already refused to come to India (US Colleges say no for setting up campuses in India, Siliconindia.com 13 January 2010). However, we should allow only programs that are only accredited by International standards be allowed to operate in India.  If we are demanding foreign universities because of their international quality, then the accreditation must be also from international bodies that are recognized globally. For example, if Duke is allowed top open a campus to start MBA program in India, then the MBA program of Duke (in nIndia) has to get AASCB International accreditation (http://www.aacsb.edu ) or The European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).  AASCB International accreditation and EQUIS are very stringent. Similarly, for Engineering you have ABET (http://www.abet.org/). If a university is being allowed to operate as a whole (with multiple programs), they should be allowed only when their respective Association of Universities recognizes them. For example, Association of American Universities recognizes only 34 Public universities, and 26 Private universities.  In order to get these accreditation, the university programs needs  to have good infrastructure, a minimum number of PhD faculty, should have a suitable course assessment tool, and have minimal number of research publications in peer reviewed journals. This will automatically improve the quality of programs. This will also block many universities which do not have accredited program on their own to start these programs in India. The commission can decide which International accreditation they have to comply with.

 

4.    Allow students to complete the program in respective home campuses of the foreign universities, and get exactly the same degree in the parent university. For example, if Hopkins provides the  Masters in Public Health (M.PH) program in India. Students should be able to go to Hopkins campus in Baltimore, and finish the same program there and get the same degree. However, beware that they are not giving another degree like Global M.PH.

 

5.    There should be strong emphasis on research in these universities.  The commitment to do active research in frontier areas should be obtained from these universities before allowing them to operate in India. There should be a minimum research expenditure made by the foreign university operating in India. For example, a small university like Iowa State University spends $60 million a year in US, and we would like similar research investment commitment from universities willing to come to India. Universities like Duke, INSEAD are required to have a certain number of PhD students, and faculty with high research credentials to operate in Singapore campus.

 

6.    The best approach is to make a case-by-case decision, on whether the particular university will be allowed to operate in India.  Whichever body makes the decision to allow a particular university to operate in India, should adhere to the above-mentioned policies and should be accountable.

                                             
                                                                        _________ 

Note from Srijat:
 

1. For more about Partha pls go to: http://www.zu.ac.ae/main/en/colleges/colleges/college_business/faculty_staff/_profiles/Partha%20Mohapatra.aspx. 

2. He had written this article when he was with the University of Maryland-University College

3. The argument in this article is as relevant today as it was when it was first written, even though the article is somewhat dated.

Happy reading!!