Need for Strategic Reforms in Governance through Policy formulations:In View of Poor Status of Internationalization in Indian Higher Education

Higher Education is a powerful tool for achieving economic sustainable development. Foreign Education Providers interest is growing rapidly to explore the potential in the Indian education market. Higher education provided by public/private and not-for profit/for profit providers and various forms of imparting education ranging from face to face education to e-learning in internationalization scenario, all this demands for urgent strategic reforms with specific policy guidelines. Some of the recent changes such as replacing Planning Commission with NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Ayog (Jan, 2015), and Human Resource Development Ministries direction to get clearance of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in future for 'global partnership within the national interest', are initiatives by the newly formed NDA government. Keeping in view the HRD Ministry's announcement to release new policies to revamp higher education, certain facts needs to be considered while formulation. The number of Indian students flying westwards rose to 6% to 1,02,673 for 2013-14, reversing the three year trend of declining number of Indians at US colleges. Last year they contributed $27 billion to the American economy, of which India's share money spent was $3.3 billion. Another study (British Council study) showed that around 30,000 students from India were studying at UK in 2011-12, and increased to 40,000 in 2012-13. Also in many other eastern countries universities the number of international students including Indian students are increasing. However the enrolment status of foreign students in Indian Universities is meager and there is less focus on student and teachers exchange programmes. The estimates are that by 2020 there will be 165 billion people seeking higher education, including 7.2 billion international students.