Transnational Education in India

The study analyses the current policy environment of transnational education in India. Special attention is given to the proposed regulatory framework, namely, ‘Foreign Educational Institutions Bill'. The study is set as a mixed method research. It has a qualitative discussion based on the existing literature on quality assurance and regulation of transnational education, as well as, a quantitative account based on a survey, set in the context of the Bill, conducted among 301 higher education institutions (130 foreign higher education institutions, 171 Indian higher education institutions). The study examines the approach of India through the Bill in accordance with the obligations of GATS in educational services, as well as, compares with the existing regulations of transnational education in other countries. One of the arguments discussed here is that global university rankings can’t qualify as an information guide for India to identify potential foreign providers. The study recommends that India needs to revisit the entry criteria, precisely the financial conditions, of the Bill in order to avoid a situation where both legitimate and false providers are equally blocked.