Why Kerala plans to open its doors to foreign universities

LEFT-ruled Kerala, traditionally opposed to corporate investments in education and health, is now opening its doors to foreign universities to transform the state into an education hub.

While the CPI(M) politburo sticks to its old stand, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, who is also a member of the party’s central committee, has in his Budget 2024 speech announced a shift in position.

Balagopal is seen as a CPI(M) leader who does not deviate from the party line. A seasoned politician, who in the past served as political secretary to former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan, he is well aware that the CPI(M) politburo has been opposed to foreign universities in India. His budget speech in the Kerala legislative assembly, though, has called for examining “opportunities for establishing foreign university campuses in the state”.

“The foreign universities will be set up in accordance with the new UGC (University Grants Commission) guidelines, without compromising on the principles of transparency and equality. Components such as single-window clearance for all required recognitions, relaxation in stamp duty/ transfer duty/ registration charges, subsidised water and electricity, tax relaxation and investment subsidy on capital will be part of the policy,” he said.

The move is seen as an attempt to attract foreign investment in higher education while encouraging the state’s youth to pursue higher studies in Kerala. A study by the Kerala State Higher Education Council says some 1.32 million students from India went abroad for studies in 2022, of which 4 per cent were from Kerala.

For the Pinarayi Vjayan government to transform Kerala into a higher education hub, the state must welcome foreign universities. The government has already taken steps to develop a Centre of Excellence in Microbiome, a Centre of Excellence in Nutraceuticals, and translational research centres and science parks in state universities.

“In the current year, the state government intends to formulate comprehensive policies and associated programmes, including changes required in the structure of Kerala’s higher education and lay down the roadmap for reforms in the higher education sector. Efforts shall be taken to integrate expatriate academic experts and utilise their expertise. A task force of academic experts will be formed for this. It is intended to conduct four regional conclaves in May-June 2024 in Europe, the United States, Gulf countries and Singapore to attract foreign universities to the state. The Higher Education Transformation Initiative Global Conclave will be held in the state in August,” Balagopal told the assembly.

The government has already discussed the broad outlines and directed the Kerala State Higher Education Council to formulate a higher education investment policy.

How do education experts see the move?

According to Rajan Gurukkal, eminent historian and vice-chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council, the move will attract foreign students from the Middle East and other countries to study in Kerala. “Quality education, along with cheaper living cost, is the major attraction of Kerala. Our students will also get an opportunity to study new courses of international standards,” he said.

T.P. Sreenivasan, a former vice-chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council, saw the decision as a right but delayed one.

“I had prepared a draft policy for setting up private foreign universities in the state 15 years ago. But vice-chancellors and political parties, including the CPI(M), objected to it. Given this resistance, more than 75,000 students from Kerala may have gone to foreign universities for higher studies over the years,” Sreenivasan said.

Some CPI(M) leaders, including General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, are objecting to the idea of the government opening up the higher education sector for private and corporate sectors against the party’s political line. But chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also a politburo member, can manage their resistance considering the problem of ‘brain drain’ in Kerala and the Centre ignoring the state’s demand for granting new educational institutions.