Bangalore: Admitting that there was
"resistance" to the Foreign Education Providers Bill, Union
Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said the
government would strive for a consensus on it and hoped to
introduce it in the ongoing session of Parliament.
"There is some resistance to the Bill. We will however
strive for a consensus on it and hope to introduce it in this
Parliament session," he said during his address (via video
conference from Delhi) at the announcement of Infosys Prize
2009 here.
The Bill seeks regulating the entry and operations of
foreign education providers in India. They would be given
status of deemed universities in the country.
Sibal said 1 lakh students from India go to the US every
year for further studies and passing of such a bill would be a
"win-win situation for us".
Observing that higher education worldwide was in a state
of flux, he said "most of our (Indian) universities need vital
changes in teaching and in contributing to local, regional and
global economies".
"We must ensure that the universities have the
independence to teach what they wish to and not be controlled
by government," Sibal said.
Underlining the need to establish high quality
educational institutions, he said in the 11th plan the
government proposes to establish 14 world-class "innovative"
universities.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 30, 2009, 21:28