As visa regulations change and global competition increases, branches seek to capitalize on the sizable domestic market.
In a university version of a gold rush, UK colleges are attempting to flee their economic woes back home by pursuing their fortunes in India, a market that boasts more than 40 million students.
First to market, the University of Southampton will be operating in Gurgaon, a Delhi satellite town, and already has students being welcomed in what it terms “the first campus of its kind in India.”
No one is far behind. “It seems almost as if every day at the moment,” said the vice-chancellor of Newcastle University, Prof. Chris Day, at a British Council event in Delhi last week.
In addition to the vice-chancellors of Surrey, Coventry, and a host of other universities said to be mulling proposals, Day said that he was “absolutely convinced” that Newcastle University must open a campus in India.
Educational department’s views
Overseas universities were not allowed to operate their own campuses in India until 2023, when the policy was altered, says Prof. Aarti Srivastava, director of higher education and professional education department at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, Delhi.
As per Srivastava, “UK universities are hoping to cash in on India’s demographic boom.” “The cohort will be attracted to gain a foreign degree at a low cost due to India’s low cost of living, which will impact their employability in the long term.”
Over 125,000 Indian students went to British universities in 2022–2023, though no figures are known because of shifting visa regulations and competition from international schools. Through having branch campuses in India, universities can tap into an untapped local market that cannot study abroad.
UK university’s view on the topic
“There is such pent-up demand for this because India is viewed as having greater potential than anywhere else for the next wave of internationalization in UK universities,” said Nick Hillman, director of the UK’s Higher Education Policy Institute.
The price of one-year tuition for Indian students to attend the home campus of Southampton for a Bachelor of Science in Business Management would be £24,000, plus hefty costs for travel, accommodation, and visas.
But from August, the same program will be available at the university’s new campus in Gurgaon’s International Tech Park, an economic enclave, for 1.3 million rupees a year, or about £12,000.
The University of Delhi, a public university with 250,000 students, also levies the equivalent of £2,000 for undergraduate fees. There are, however, over 58,000 colleges and institutions that teach 43 million students owing to the huge demand for places. Private colleges are opening fast and up to £10,000 is being charged.
UK institutions have ample space to make their entry into the Indian market, as the government is keen to see that half of the nation’s youth be admitted to tertiary education, from 28% in 2021–2022.
India is “of great importance” to UK higher education for scholars and academic contacts, British Council director of education Maddalaine Ansell stated.
They have risen due to our work with partners to help the UK sector adjust to recent developments in higher education in India. These are the establishment of UK university campuses and joint and dual PhDs and master’s degrees, as told by Ansell.
Financial crisis and criticism
University of Surrey vice-chancellor Prof. Max Lu was this week deliberating opening a campus in Gujarat International Finance Tec (Gift) City, a special economic zone that offers tax breaks and profit repatriation to prestigious global universities, for the next academic year.
Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), which has indicated that it will start providing postgraduate programmes there in January of next year, is likely to be Gift City’s first UK resident university.
The new campus will be priced at £5 million to £7 million, claims QUB, which is already planning for compulsory redundancies in order to address an expected operation deficit of £11 million.
A spokesperson for QUB said: “It is worth noting that no compulsory redundancies are involved as part of this exercise, and the investment in Gift City is independent of the university’s voluntary severance scheme. The forecast profits from the gift investment will be used to cover necessary university expenditures and will make a very substantial contribution towards ensuring the financial sustainability of the university in the longer term.
The University and College Union general secretary, Jo Grady, described it as “reprehensible” for colleges to be undertaking risky projects abroad while making staff redundant at home.
Grady said, “These vanity projects too often end up losing money or even closing down.” “The government’s insistence that universities take their civic duties more seriously is entirely in conflict with this reckless mismanagement.
Overall conclusion regarding the subject
The arrival of UK universities in India represents a radical shift in the global strategy for higher education. With India’s vast population of young people, growing need for quality education, and recent legislative reforms favoring foreign campuses, UK universities viewed India as a land of opportunity in the midst of domestic financial constraints and an uncertain international student market.
This action creates questions regarding priorities and fiscal responsibility even as it provides access to an untapped and price-sensitive student population. Critics argue that universities need to address their fiscal problems at home first and fulfill their obligations to their communities before they can expand abroad.
The ability of UK universities to balance ambition and accountability—delivering value to Indian students while ensuring the long-term sustainability of their own institutions—will ultimately decide the success of this global expansion.
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