New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued new guidelines for the admission of international students pursuing higher educational institutions (HEIs) in India. HEIs can now create up to 25% extra seats for international students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, given they surpass their sanctioned enrolment quotas.
The distribution of these additional seats can be determined by individual HEIs, provided they comply with directives given by regulatory bodies, and consider the availability of infrastructure and faculty.
However, these supernumerary seats do not include students who are participating in exchange programs or are covered by Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreements between institutions or governments.
HEIs have been instructed to distribute the extra seats proportionally amongst academic departments, schools, centres, or similar units within the institution. It has also been specified that these seats can only be occupied by international students, and if they remain unfilled, domestic candidates can not occupy them.
Respective statutory bodies of professional and technical institutes will oversee the allocation of the extra seats. However, the allocation of PhD seats will take place under UGC rules. HEIs will also have to establish an ‘Office for International Students’ that will maintain all necessary records, like the country of origin, number of students, program of study, and duration of enrolment on a yearly basis.
