Promotion of Indian Higher Education Abroad (PIHEAD)

Decisions on Policy Matters

Use of the Term - International Students and Its Definition

The Standing Committee of PIHEAD in its meeting held on 17 November 2004 decided to use the term ‘International Students’ under the PIHEAD Initiative in keeping with the globally accepted norms. The Committee has decided to define International Students broadly in line with several agreements about definitions and constructs in context of an International Students Mobility: Project Atlas. This is however suitably modified to fit in the Indian context.

In future all documents and reports on this subject shall use the term International Student (rather than Foreign Student).

The international students will include the following:

a. Foreign students: Students holding passports issued by foreign countries including people of Indian origin who have acquired the nationality of foreign countries are included as foreign students.

b. Non Resident Indians (NRI): Only those Non Resident Indian students who have studied and passed the qualifying examinations from schools or colleges in foreign countries will be included as international students. This will include the students studying in the schools or colleges situated in foreign countries even if affiliated to the Boards of Secondary Education or Universities located in India, but will not include students studying in those schools or colleges (situated in India) and affiliated to the Boards of Secondary Education or Universities located in foreign countries. Students passing the qualifying examinations from Boards or Universities located in foreign countries as external students and dependants of NRI studying in India will not be included as international students. Once a student is given the status of an International student, his entry level status will be maintained throughout his education in India.

Decision of the Standing Committee on Issues relating to Fees for International Students

In the meeting of the Standing Committee of PIHEAD held on 17 November 2004, there was a general consensus that the UGC need not get involved in prescribing fees for International students. Keeping in view the issue of autonomy in this context, the fee levels should be fixed by the institutions themselves. While fixing the fees for International students, the institutions could take the following points into consideration.

International students (particularly the PIOs & NRIs as per definition above), if they follow the same route for admission as an Indian student should be charged the same level of fees as an Indian student.
Institutions should at least charge fees to recover the costs. The fee level should be internationally competitive and position higher education in India as a high quality and affordable higher education option. In order to facilitate the institutions to fix their own fees based on the above considerations, information on fee levels in various institutions could be shared. Institutions could have differential fee structure for students from SAARC Countries, NRIs / PIOs and International Students from the poor countries etc.
Application / Registration fees should be low to moderate. Some institutions are not keeping any such fees at all. Such fees act as a deterrent to get international student applications. Each institution can have its own policy of free-ships / scholarships. This could be country specific, subject specific, merit or means tested.

Decision of the Standing Committee on Issues relating to Financing of Activities under PIHEAD

In the meeting of the Standing Committee of PIHEAD held on 17 November 2004, it was decided that all Institutions could be allowed to keep all their income from International students separately and create a fund that could be used for institutional purposes at the discretion of the institution. Such use shall include creating infrastructure and facilities for International students and promotional activities to attract international students.