UGC approves guidelines for admission, supernumerary seats for international students in UG and PG

New Delhi [India], August 19 : University Grants Commission has approved the guidelines for the admission and Supernumerary seats for International Students in Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes in Higher Education Institutions in India.
The decision was made during the 560th Meeting of the University Grants Commission held on August 18.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisages a new and forward-looking vision for India's higher education system. It sets the foundation for the much-needed transformation and overhaul of the current education system through its focus on key issues like access, equity, multidisciplinarity, and holistic and value-based education.
Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, UGC said, "Internationalisation of higher education is an essential aspect of the National Education Policy 2020 and helps in integrating the international and intercultural dimensions in higher education."
Opportunities to attract international students, academics and funding are growing and many Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are now committed to increasing their international outreach. In order to facilitate the internationalisation of Indian HEIs, the University Grants Commission has framed the guidelines for the admission and the creation of supernumerary seats for international students.
According to Prof. Kumar, the main objectives of these guidelines are to facilitate a smooth and simple admission of international students to higher educational institutions in India, To create a favourable environment for attracting international students to the Indian higher education system, and To make India a preferred destination for international students.
He said that HEIs will be permitted to admit international students using a transparent admission process as is done by the foreign universities and that these students do not have to go through the entrance process used for admissions in India.
The following guidelines will be put in the public domain for stakeholder feedback in a few days Indian HEIs may admit international students based on the equivalence of entry qualifications held by them. The equivalence is to be determined by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or any other body recognised by UGC for such purpose or the concerned regulatory bodies of the country. HEIs may adopt a transparent admission process for admitting international students.
HEIs may create up to 25 per cent supernumerary seats for international students, over and above their total sanctioned enrolment for Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes. The decision regarding 25 per cent supernumerary seats has to be carried out by the concerned higher educational institutions as per specific guidelines/regulations issued by the regulatory bodies considering the infrastructure, faculty and other requirements.
The 25 per cent of the supernumerary seats for international students will not include the international students under exchange programmes or/and through Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between institutions or between the government of India and other countries.
4 Depending on the availability of infrastructure and qualified faculty, efforts should be made to distribute these 25 per cent seats among all departments, schools, centres or any other academic unit of the higher educational institution, wherever possible.
The supernumerary seats shall be exclusively meant for international students both in the Undergraduate and Post-graduate programmes. A seat that remained unfilled in the supernumerary category, shall not be allocated to anyone other than an international student. International students in this context shall be defined as the ones who shall possess a foreign passport.
The provision of creating supernumerary seats for international students should be formalized by way of approval of the statutory body/bodies of the HEIs in accordance with the guidelines/regulations issued by the regulatory bodies from time to time.
The supernumerary seats in professional and technical institutes shall be governed by the respective statutory bodies.
Supernumerary seats for PhD programmes shall be governed by the Regulations notified by the University Grants Commission from time to time in this regard.
All HEIs shall have an 'Office for International Affairs'. This office will be responsible for undertaking various activities such as (a) To disseminate information related to the admission process among prospective foreign students, (b) To coordinate all matters relating to welcoming and supporting foreign students, (c) To engage in promotional activities and brand building campaign abroad, (d) To address the grievances of foreign students in all matters, (e) To facilitate networking with fellow students, (f) To extend all possible help to the foreign students to adapt to the new cultural environment and make their stay in India comfortable and enriching, (g) Single point contact for registration with FRRO/e-FRRO, (h) Single point contact for carrying out all collaborative activities with foreign institutions, and (i) Act as a liaison body between the foreign students and the sponsoring agency.
Year-wise details, i.e., country, number of students admitted in each programme/subject, duration of the programme etc., regarding the international students in the HEI be maintained by it and made available on their website.
All details regarding the number of seats available for international students in each programme, fee prescribed for the same, admission process, eligibility conditions etc. shall be made available on the website of the HEI.
All existing rules/provisions notified by the Government of India regarding visa/ Foreign Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) etc. shall be followed by the HEIs.