ELDHO MATHEWS

‘Through the Ministry of Education, the UGC, and various regulatory and accreditation bodies, the Union government possesses substantial leverage over universities and colleges across the country.’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Higher education in India has emerged as an important site through which the changing dynamics of Indian federalism are being expressed.

GLOBAL Global higher education is undergoing a paradoxical shift. On one hand, student enrolment is booming, with over 254 million students currently enrolled in higher education institutions. On the other hand, despite this growing demand, university closures and mergers loom large in many countries. Much more attention needs to be focused on these failures, which affect students, staff and society.

Last month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in India with a planeload of vice chancellors. The Indian and U.K. governments announced that several U.K. universities plan to open branch campuses in India. Some of them have already received University Grants Commission (UGC) approval, while others are in the early stages of the application process.