why is UK’s “landmark agreement” a good news for Indian students?
A “landmark, historic agreement” has been reached between the UK and India to formally accept each other’s higher education credentials. This development has been welcomed as “great news” for Indian students planning to study in the UK.
Indian graduates will be allowed to apply for postgraduate degrees or start positions in government in UK equivalent courses, undergraduate degrees, and graduate degrees.
The UK received 84,555 Indian students in 2020–2021. According to HESA, there had been a “notable rise” of 67,660 students from the nation in the five years preceding that academic year.
In addition, the most recent UCAS application data shows a 20% increase in applications from India for the upcoming academic year. Thus there is an increasing number of student willing to go to UK for higher education.
Here is why you should consider studying in UK
The agreement strengthens the UK-India partnership, according to James Cleverly, who was appointed UK education minister on July 7. He added that it “removes barriers so even more of the best and brightest students from India can study here, boosting our economy and enriching our campuses and communities.
International education is one of our best exports, and UK institutions are justifiably the envy of the world, he claimed.
“This is a historic, landmark agreement that has been in the works for many years.”
The MoU is a component of the enhanced trade partnership between the UK and India that prime ministers Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi decided upon last year.The “dynamic” strategic partnership for education in 2021 included proposals for improved transient bilateral mobility and reciprocal recognition of credentials.
According to Vivienne Stern, CEO of Universities UK International, “This is a monumental, historic partnership that has been in the works for many years.”The recognition of students’ credentials on both sides will make it simpler for them to advance academically and find employment.
The acceptance of UK master’s programmes is a “very important step,” according to Stern, who was recently in India as part of a group looking into the potential for UK transnational education. “it means that Indian graduates of the UK’s top colleges would be officially recognised for their remarkable accomplishments and will have full access to positions in the public sector in India.”
The development of dual and joint degrees as well as twinning agreements between UK and Indian universities was anticipated to follow the mutual recognition of qualifications by the end of 2021, according to TNE expert Eduardo Ramos, who also suggested last year that recognition could be a “significant step” in that direction.
According to UKCISA chief executive Anne Marie Graham, “This [agreement] is fantastic news for Indian students coming to the UK to study, helping to ensure that the education they get here will be fully recognised and enable them to continue to advance when they return to India.”
Sanam Arora, who founded and currently serves as chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK, likewise praised the “really monumental, long-awaited and important achievement in UK-India ties.”
NISAU has long advocated for reciprocal recognition of qualifications, so this agreement is a very welcome development, she said. “It will enable significantly smoother movement of students between the two countries and broaden the nature and extent of collaborations between individual universities in the two countries.”
The deal will encourage even more cooperation between our higher education sectors, according to the statement.
The deal is an “important moment of celebration in the India-UK education connection [which] will help thousands of young people and brilliant students in both countries,” according to Barbara Wickham, director for India at the British Council.
“The agreement will support even closer cooperation between our higher education sectors, nurture graduates who are prepared for the global workforce through an increasingly globalised educational system, and further enable collaborative initiatives in education, research, and innovation to find solutions to common global challenges.
The agreement’s completion coincides with the ongoing India/UK Together Season of Culture, a historic event that honours India’s 75th anniversary and highlights the close ties between the two countries. This is a great opportunity for Indian student who desire to pursue higher education or even settle down in the UK.
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