CHENNAI: Educational institutions in the US are “tremendously interested” in the Foreign Education Providers (Regulation) Bill, which is waiting to be introduced in Parliament, said Suresh Kumar, the assistant secretary of commerce and director general of the US and foreign commercial service. Talking to Express during a media interaction, organised by Chennai US Consulate on Wednesday, he however, said there was a need for further clarity on many aspects of the Bill to attract the interests of universities. “Union HRD Minister has informed us that the Bill is likely to be passed by Parliament within this year and the educational institutions in the US are looking forward to it,” he said.However, Kumar stressed on the need for clarity on many issues within the Bill, which might be crucial in attracting foreign universities to open facilities in India.“There needs to be enough clarity on fee structure, profitability of running institutions and on curriculum development which we hope will emerge by the time the Bill is passed by Parliament.”The proposed higher education Bill would pave way for foreign universities to legally set up educational institutions in India instead of relying on unofficial, unilateral partnerships with Indian universities. But the Bill in its present form prevents universities from repatriating profits back to home countries. The Bill also mandates the government to regulate tuition fees to keep them affordable.Availability of higher educational opportunities is going to be the major factor that constrains India’s growth, said Kumar, apart from other issues like energy security and infrastructure. Quoting governmental statistics he said, “At present there are 220 million school going children in India of which only 28 million go for higher education.” The Centre targets to improve the numbers by 15 per cent by 2015 and 30 per cent by 2020, which means an additional 80 million students will be encouraged to take up higher education. “The US is willing to work with India in this endeavour and can help in building educational infrastructure, imparting training and skills. The Tamil Nady government authorities have already flagged issues like requirement of lab equipment. There can also be collaborations in teacher training to help produce quality teachers in India who can meet the demand for education. Our focus primarily will not be only on the top one per cent but on various sections of society in need of education as a right,” Kumar said.
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