India gives a tit for tat for recognition of one-year UK degrees

India is now rethinking its commitment to recognise the 1 year master's degree awarded from the British universities as Britain does not universally accept Class XII certificates from India.

Education minister Smriti Irani has asked high commissioner James David Bevan, that all British universities to start admitting Indian students on the base of their Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) certificates.

She is likely to speak on the same again with the British minister for universities and science, David Willets, when he is visiting India later this year. A fewer Indian students are travelling to Britain for higher studies because of strict visa regulations for subsequent employment.

Universities like the Cambridge, Oxford, and the London School of Economics award 2 year master's degrees which are recognised in India, many British universities including the Universities of Sussex and Liverpool offer 1 year postgraduate programmes.

The Manmohan Singh government had agreed to recognise the 1 year degrees so the holder's could pursue further education or secure government jobs in India.

This was to be done through a bridge course which was to be designed by the University Grants Commision (UGC), whose duration was tentatively fixed at 6 months in November last year.

However, the Narendra Modi government is not keen with this commitment without a quid pro quo on undergraduate admissions in Britain.

Of late several British universities including Oxford, Warwick and Durham have begun to recognise CBSE certificates while some universities like Cambridge and the London School of Economics are not.

The Modi government has a good reason not to accept these degrees because of the UGC's strict regulations to follow the 10+2+3 system of education which is followed by 2 year master's course.

This compelled the Delhi university to scrap its 4 year undergraduate programme followed by 1 year master's course. Then the IISc (Indian Institute of Science), Bangalore was asked to cut down its 4 year undergraduate programme and has now approached the Indian Institutes of Technology on the same.

Under such circumstances, the government cannot afford to have one-and-a-half-year master's system which includes the bridge course for British degrees.

Class XII graduates from India now have to do an additional course to secure admissions to some British universities. The CBSE has taken the matter up with Universities UK, an organisation representing all British universities.

But UGC sources said the demand from students for recognising the one-year degrees was not high enough, particularly at a time the number of Indian students in Britain was falling. This was why, they said, the matter had progressed slowly even under the UPA government.

A 2012 study commissioned by the UK Higher Education International Unit claimed that Britain's one-year master's degrees were as good as their two-year Indian counterparts.

India is now rethinking its committment to recognise the 1 year master's degree awarded from the British universities as Britain does not universally accept Class XII certificates from India.

Education minister Smriti Irani has asked high commissioner James David Bevan, that all British universities to start admitting Indian students on the base of their Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) certificates.

She is likely to speak on the same again with the British minister for universities and science, David Willets, when he is visiting India later this year. A fewer Indian students are travelling to Britain for higher studies because of strict visa regulations for subsequent employment.

Universities like the Cambridge, Oxford, and the London School of Economics award 2 year master's degrees which are recognised in India, many British universities including the Universities of Sussex and Liverpool offer 1 year postgraduate programmes.

The Manmohan Singh government had agreed to recognise the 1 year degrees so the holder's could pursue further education or secure government jobs in India.

This was to be done through a bridge course which was to be designed by the University Grants Commision (UGC), whose duration was tentatively fixed at 6 months in November last year.

However, the Narendra Modi government is not keen with this commitment without a quid pro quo on undergraduate admissions in Britain.

Of late several British universities including Oxford, Warwick and Durham have begun to recognise CBSE certificates while some universities like Cambridge and the London School of Economics are not.

The Modi government has a good reason not to accept these degrees because of the UGC's strict regulations to follow the 10+2+3 system of education which is followed by 2 year master's course.

This compelled the Delhi university to scrap its 4 year undergraduate programme followed by 1 year master's course. Then the IISc (Indian Institute of Science), Bangalore was asked to cut down its 4 year undergraduate programme and has now approached the Indian Institutes of Technology on the same.

Under such circumstances, the government cannot afford to have one-and-a-half-year master's system which includes the bridge course for British degrees.

Class XII graduates from India now have to do an additional course to secure admissions to some British universities. The CBSE has taken the matter up with Universities UK, an organisation representing all British universities.

But UGC sources said the demand from students for recognising the one-year degrees was not high enough, particularly at a time the number of Indian students in Britain was falling. This was why, they said, the matter had progressed slowly even under the UPA government.

A 2012 study commissioned by the UK Higher Education International Unit claimed that Britain's one-year master's degrees were as good as their two-year Indian counterparts.