Can foreign university campuses co-exist with equity goals in Indian higher education? Suggest safeguards.

NEP 2020 calls for the internationalisation of higher education. The UGC Regulations, 2023 put this into practice, and UGC has so far issued 16 Letters of Intent to 15 foreign institutions [2]. Andhra Pradesh has now amended its Education Act, 1982 to attract such campuses [1]. Foreign campuses can co-exist with equity, but only if access is built in on purpose rather than assumed.

How foreign campuses can support equity

• Cheaper than going abroad: the Education Minister calls it "premium global education at an affordable cost" [3]. About 12.54 lakh Indians study abroad in higher education [4], and part of that fee outflow could stay in India.
• Quality filters: only top-500 institutions are eligible, and the Indian campus must match the parent campus's standard [2][3].
• No degree mills: teaching must be physical mode only [3], and degrees are equivalent without further process [2].
• Benchmarking: competition can push Indian universities to improve their curricula and research.

Where equity is at risk

• Fee exclusion: the approval criteria look at rankings and quality, not affordability [2]. "Affordable" compared with going abroad is still out of reach for most Indian families.
• Metro concentration: the approved campuses cluster in Bengaluru, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chennai [2]. This widens regional gaps.
• Internal brain drain: campuses that pay better may hire away senior faculty from State universities, and public-college students would lose out.
• Two separate tracks: A.P.'s tribal Centre of Excellence at Marikavalasa coaches students for IIT-JEE/NEET [1]. That leads to public seats, not to the new global campuses.

Safeguards

• Conditional State support: link land and concessions to fee-waiver or scholarship quotas for domicile, SC/ST and women students.
• Feeder pathways: reserve scholarship seats for top students from the Marikavalasa centre [1].
• Transparency: publish the 2026 State policy and every campus agreement [1] so the legislature can scrutinise them.
• Renewal tied to equity: at the end of the 10-year initial approval [3], require published data on fees, scholarships and where faculty were hired from.
• Faculty-sharing norms: encourage joint appointments and adjunct teaching in State universities rather than one-way hiring.

Overall, foreign campuses widen choice but do not by themselves widen access. With State-level conditions, transparent agreements and renewal tied to equity data, they can support SDG 4.3 (equal access to affordable, quality tertiary education). Internationalisation should then strengthen NEP 2020's commitment to inclusive excellence rather than create elite enclaves.