Government is ready for FDI in education: Purandeswari

Government has no problem in Foreign Direct Investment in education sector, said Smt. D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development while answering the question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Responding over the question of FDI in the upper house of Parliament, Purandeswari said, “FDI in the education sector was already allowed up to 100% in India… government is not aware of any problem in this regard.

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” “the need is to promote quality and excellence in higher education.”, she added.

Earlier, Union Human Resource and Development Minister Arjun Singh was not in the favour of FDI and he opposed the Foreign Education Providers (Regulation) Bill when it came in 2006. The left parties were also opposed the bill. Despite of their protest, the bill has been passed and the voice of HRD Minister has been changed.

Last month, Singh said that he was not against the bill but wanted to talk with lefts on other several issues. Left, on the other side, earlier opposed bitterly to open foreign universities in India but now ready to support the bill but want a greater regulatory role for the foreign investors.

On the other hand, the supporter of the bill especially commerce Minister Kamal Nath had argued, “the higher education sector in India should be freed and the country should open its doors to foreign investment.”

The bill was under the World Trade Organisation, so government had no option to pass the bill, but HRD ministry seeks caution to implement the bill as several developing countries especially were against the WTO’s proposal to open the foreign universities in the county because those can affect the local culture and political environment.

But, now government is ready to pass the bill, as HRD ministry told today.

“Focused attention is being given to improve infrastructure, qualitative improvement in faculty, hiking of doctoral fellowship, emphasis on research with overall academic reforms,” said Purandeswari.

The public investment in higher education sector has been increased several times and is likely to surge more in the 11th five-year plan, as per government’s desire to improve the quality of education.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has authority to approve the entry and operation of foreign universities/ institutions imparting technical education in India.