THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the UGC set to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India, some of those campuses will come up in Kerala as well.

Kerala University currently has 140 foreign students enrolled. Indian Council for Cultural Relations has provided these students with complete scholarships for their education (ICCR). It is the UGC that gives permission to foreign universities. It does not even require permission from the state in this regard.

With the arrival of campuses of foreign universities leading the world rankings, Malayalee students will have access to high-quality study facilities right here. The syllabus and teachers will be the same as those abroad. These campuses can be established in collaboration with current colleges.

Loss-making self-financing medical and engineering colleges have started making attempts to collaborate with foreign universities. According to figures prepared by NORKA, Malayali students have gone to 51 countries ranging from Nepal to Curacao Island in the Caribbean Sea to study MBBS. Three thousand Malayali students are studying in China alone. 2320 students are in Ukraine. Students also go abroad to study management, social science and law.

Foreigners interested in Kerala University

• As many as 1400 students from 35 countries applied for admission to Kerala University last year. PhD-148, PG-611, MBA-170.
• Most of these applicants are from the USA, South Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bangladesh, Maldives, Indonesia, Nepal, Syria, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ghana and Cambodia.
• Foreign students showed interest in PG studies in subjects like Management Studies, Political Science, Computer Science, Chemistry, Sociology, English and Education.
• Foreign students got admission to the Kariyavattom campus for PG courses and affiliated colleges for graduate courses. Calicut University and MG University also have international students enrolled.

Indian students going abroad for study

• Rs 2.48 lakh crores are flowing annually out of India as fees for studying abroad
• 4.5 lakh students went to study abroad in 2021