When foreign universities come home

Until recently, some 7 lakh students from India used to go to foreign universities every year. The United States of America, Australia, Canada, England,.and Germany were among the key destinations.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs data, the number of students going abroad from India has now decreased by about 40%. This year, only 2 lakh to 3 lakh students have gone to foreign universities.

At the same time, an increasing number of foreign universities are pitching their tents in India, opening their offshore campuses here and offering the “foreign-educated” tag. Bengaluru appears to be one of the key destinations for many of them, with two universities — one each from Australia and the United Kingdom - already opening their campuses and starting academic activities from 2026-27, while more are in the pipeline.

Driven by the National Education Policy (NEP-2020), foreign universities have taken steps to establish their off-shore campuses with the permission of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

While one section feels that the arrival of foreign universities will bring in foreign research, increase new innovations, enhance tourism and foster intellectual growth, there are those who argue that Indian students will be better off studying at the parent campus of foreign universities, interacting with foreign students and having multicultural exchanges. There is also a fear that foreign universities will have an impact on local universities.

Earlier, foreign universities were not allowed to operate directly in India. However, many higher educational institutions were operating in collaboration with foreign universities for research activities, cultural and student exchange and other programmes.

Students who wanted a foreign university degree would go abroad, some on government and university scholarships. Many students used to find placements through educational consultancies or agencies at their own expenses.

But in recent years, countries such as the U.S. and Canada have tightened student visa rules, while Australia has increased student visa fees by a huge margin. The number of students going abroad has also fallen significantly owing to higher tuition fees, with the value of the rupee constantly falling against the U.S. dollar and education loans getting more expensive, among other reasons.

At this juncture, NEP-2020, implemented by the Union government from 2022, allowed foreign universities to operate in the country. Since then, around 18 global ranking universities have been approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to open campuses in India. Seven of them are from Australia.

Two foreign universities have already started operations in Bengaluru. Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the U.K.-based University of Liverpool have already established campuses at Manyata Business Park and the Alembic City complex in Bengaluru.

Four other foreign institutions — Imperial College London, Lancaster University, La Trobe University and Flinders University — are planning to start operations in and around Bengaluru.

To apply at these universities, English language proficiency is a must. At UNSW the students have to prove their proficiency, if English is not their first language, and the University of Liverpool demands a minimum 70% in English language at class 12 in any board.

University of Liverpool offers BSc (Hons) and Masters in Accounting and Finance, Biomedical sciences, Computer Science, Computer Science and Software Development, Game Design and BA in Business Management.

UNSW has started Bachelor’s programmes in Business, Computer Science, Data Science and Decisions, Media, Public Relations and Advertising and Masters in Cyber Security.

Though not comparable to what it costs to study abroad, degrees here too come with a heavy price tag. Undergraduate (UG) courses at UNSW charge around ₹15 lakh for Indian residents per year and for Masters in Cyber Security, it is around ₹19 lakh for resident Indians and ₹22 lakh for Non Resident Indians.

The annual fee structure at University of Liverpool ranges between ₹11.5 lakh for undergraduate programmes and ₹15 lakh for the postgraduate ones. However, the universities offer scholarships for eligible students.

Many foreign universities are eager to set up their campuses in Bengaluru for many reasons, including the State government’s policies that make processes simpler, technology availability, and access to qualified human resources.

Suresh Renukappa, Director of JSS AHER-Wolverhampton Centre for Future Healthcare and Policy Innovation University of Wolverhampton, U.K., said: “The NEP-2020 created an enabling environment for internationalisation, and subsequent regulatory developments have provided clearer routes for foreign universities to establish a presence in India. International universities also see India’s demographic scale, demand for higher education, expanding middle class, rapidly growing innovation economy and increasing global importance.”