| | 8 September 2019HIGHERReviewIN MY VIEWHOW PARTNERSHIPS WITH FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES CAN TRANSFORM INDIA'S HIGHER EDUCATIONBy Amit Dasgupta, Country Director - India, UNSWIndia's ambition to become a glob-al influencer is predicated on the quality of education it imparts to its young. The government's current focus on revamping the education system is clear indication of disappointment and indeed, apprehension that the demo-graphic dividend, if denied quality ed-ucation, might become a demographic drawback. Statistics that only five per cent of India's engineers are employable can be seriously alarming. Rising incomes combined with surging aspiration has forced many young students to seek higher education abroad. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, around 7.5 lakh Indi-ans leave the country to study overseas each year. While the US and UK were popular choices earlier, countries like Australia, Canada, Singapore and New Zealand have emerged as preferred des-tinations for Indian students to pursue their higher studies. This discovery of these new destinations is likely to grow stronger as it is a strong combination of internationally-ranked education at an affordable price point in comparison with studying in the US or the UK. Despite this cost differential, not every Indian student can afford to pay for a two-year Masters programme or a four-year Under Graduate programme abroad including living costs. Recog-nizing this and the pressure to modern-ize the curriculum and pedagogy, the Ministry of HRD made amendments to the existing UGC program by easing regulations for foreign collaborations with Indian universities. With this, the numbers of Indian universities offering twinning programs have increased ex-ponentially, giving students a chance to benefit from global exposure while avoiding the mammoth expenses that accompany an overseas degree. Embed-ded in such twinning arrangements as the 2+2, for instance, are Articulation Agreements that require curriculum to be changed to incorporate new teaching and subject areas, so that students from Established in 1949, UNSW has expanded rapidly and now has more than 52,000 students, including more than 14,000 international students from over 130 different countries. UNSW offers more than 300 undergraduate and 600 postgraduate programs, and has developed an extensive network of alumni chapters throughout Asia.
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