Source: The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Foreign Education Providers (FEPs) interested in setting up campuses in India would have to run them as a not-for-profit legal entity. Therefore, they would have to first form a company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. Companies Under section 25 are non-profit entities.
More than two months after the TOI reported finalization of UGC rules for establishment of campus of foreign universities/educational institutions in India, the HRD ministry made the rules public on Tuesday.
The degrees awarded by FEPs would be treated as foreign degrees only and the same shall be subject to the equivalence accorded by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) as per their system.
FEPs before being notified would have to maintain a corpus of not less than Rs 25 crore for each campus they propose to establish. Each provider would be allowed maximum of four campuses. Out of the income received from the corpus fund, FEPs would not be allowed to utilize not more than 75% income for the purpose of development. The rest of the income would have be deposited in the corpus fund. FEPs would also not be allowed to invest surplus revenue for any purpose other than for the growth and development of the educational institutions.
FEPs would not be allowed to offer any course that adversely affects the sovereignty and integrity of India or its friendly relations with other countries. Only FEPs who are placed in the top 400 institutions as per the world university rankings by Times Higher Education or World University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) or Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University will only be allowed to operate. FEPs that have been in the field of education for more than 20 years in the parent country and are accreditated there would be allowed to set up campus in India.
Application of FEPs would have to be endorsed by the embassy or high commission in India of the country in which the institution is established. FEPs would have to mandatorily publish prospectus with details of courses, fee and other charges as well as money to be refunded.
UGC rules also has provision for penalty if an institution that is not FEP, has not been recognized or whose recognition has been withdrawn offers admission in violation of the provisions or publishes or releases misleading advertisement. The minimum penalty would be Rs 50 lakh extendable to Rs 1 crore.