British Council in India is now focusing on supporting the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP2020) that emphasises on internationalisation of education, which will have a higher impact on research through multicultural collaborations, student mobility and transnational education (TNE).
On the sidelines of the Going Global Education Conference (GGC) Asia Pacific 2022-23 recently concluded in Singapore, Rittika Chanda Parruck, Director Education, British Council, India told Education Times about the liberalisation of education that allows university partnership. The GGC 2022 was a pilot by the British Council for the Asia Pacific that was set up given the global significance of this geography as the bed for global innovation.
A report that explores the outlook for UK-India TNE highlights the scope of expansion of multiple models of TNE delivery in India. “The collaboration becomes easier when qualifications from both countries are mutually recognised. The mutual recognition of academic qualification (MRQ) between India and the UK is the first step. The second significant step is to make universities collaborate with varsities in the UK through the TNE agreement,” said Parruck. To get more traction from the students, the TNE mapping needs to have a common niche and not vanilla-flavoured degrees.
TNE refers to UK degree programmes that are delivered outside of the UK. There are multiple models of TNE delivery, ranging from validation agreements between UK universities and local providers to international branch campuses (IBCs). “The UGC has introduced new regulations on dual and twinning degrees,” added Parruck, underlining how TNA mapping can improve the country’s higher education provision, develop local skills, increase choices, enhance student mobility, and contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
We had anticipated the liberalisation plans (of India) and we had launched Going Global Partnerships, under which the British Council has already given grants worth GBP 1.2 million to 107 universities and 36 partnerships in both countries, added Parruck. “Offering niche discipline will be a game changer that requires special inputs from the UK as their expertise in higher education is valued,” she added.
The TNE enrolments in Asian countries in 2020/21 had China at the top with 60,405 enrolments. The other countries included Malaysia (48,240) Sri Lanka (37,100), Singapore (27,730) and Nepal (9,610), while India is at the bottom with only 9,050 enrolments.
“In the past, TNE faced several policy barriers in India, which have recently been lifted, based on the new regulations put in place by the UGC. India has started cautiously but now we can expect the numbers to grow. China had very few regulatory barriers, to begin with, however, more regulations have come in over the past few years.
Mapping of TNE provision in India shows that there is significant potential for developing it in states such as MP, UP, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and the seven states of northeast India. Currently, TNE provision is concentrated in Delhi -NCR, Mumbai, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “Our research revealed that there is very low student awareness about the TNE provisions. Besides increasing awareness, we want to address the skill gap needed in the local context, for which we are exploring partnerships. The Global Partnership grants, across various parts of the country, will increase by addressing the skill gaps. TNE is successful when it addresses an emerging discipline or an area that is niche and provides an advantage to the students in finding jobs or progression in higher education,” Parruck said.



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