'Free entry of foreign varsities dangerous'

The CPI(M) has urged the government to stop "unregulated" entry of foreign universities in India, saying it will be "dangerous" for the country.

According to CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, the trade policy division of the Ministry of Commerce has circulated a paper, "Trade in Educational Services," arguing for a laissez faire entry of foreign educational institutions.

The proposal to deregulate higher education in India comes as part of the ongoing negotiations on trade in services at the WTO.

"It would be dangerous for India to provide access to foreign education providers (FEPs) without any legal framework of regulation. This is particularly so when, thanks to the economic policies of liberalisation, Indian educational space is being flooded by fly-by-night operators, who are establishing degree mills," Yechury said, adding that they were not against an "appropriate interplay" with foreign institutions of repute but only against their unregulated entry.

The education system can be improved only by a massive hike in public investment, he said, adding that the national common minimum programme had promised to increase the spend on this count to 6 per cent of the GDP from less than 3 per cent.

"Unfortunately, adequate attention is not being paid to this promise," Yechury said in an editorial in CPI(M)'s mouthpiece, People's Democracy.

The CNR Rao Committee, appointed by the Human Resources Development Ministry, had also suggested that FEPs be allowed in India only after suitable regulations.

After talks with with academics, state governments and other stakeholders, a draft legislation on regulating the entry of foreign educational institutions was prepared.

Unfortunately, vested interests were succeeding in delaying this legislation, which meant that private players would continue to "reap a mercenary bonanza" for one more year, said Yechury.

He said the argument that some 1.40 lakh students go abroad for higher studies annually could not be a justification for unregulated entry of foreign educational institutions.

Yechury said many countries in the world which allowed foreign institutions protected their national interests and public policy priorities.

Such institutions can enter Malaysia only by invitation and must establish a Malaysian company with a majority Malaysian ownership. In China, the entry is by invitation and only in partnerships with Chinese institutions, Yechury said.