UGC has notified the University Grants Commission (Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Higher Education Institutions to offer Twinning Programme, Joint Degree, Dual Degree Programmes) Regulations, 2022 and University Grants Commission (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations, 2023. The Regulations mandate that No Foreign Higher Educational Institution shall offer any programme in India without the prior approval of the Commission. The regulations also mandate that the HEIs shall not offer programines under any franchise arrangement and that such programmes shall not be recognised by the UGC.
University Grants Commission has observed and has been informed that many HEIs/colleges have entered into collaborative agreeinents/arrangements with foreign-based educational institutions/providers not recognized by the Commission and have been facilitating the issuance of degrees to the students enrolled in those institutions/college from such foreign-based educational institutions/educational providers. Any such kind of collaboration/ arrangement is not recognized by the University Grants Commission and accordingly, the degrees issued subsequent to such collaboration/ arrangement are also not recognized by the Commission.
It has also come to the notice of UGC that some EdTech companies are giving advertisements in newspapers social media/television etc. offering degree and diploma programmes in Online modes in association with some foreign universities/institutions. Such a franchisee arrangement is not permissible and any such programme/degree shall not have UGC recognition.
