UK & India sign MoU agreement to promote each other’s high-quality education system
In this era of the modern generation, students are constantly attracted towards versatile learning whilst gaining practical knowledge so that it benefits them in the long run. The education system is highly synchronized worldwide & it’s dependent on the student where they wish to study for building their knowledge proficiency. If we analyze the education system of the UK & India then one thing which is common between both the countries is that they focus more on prioritizing the needs of the students while comprehensively teaching them new skills so that they understand everything about the subject they wish to master .
So keeping the tradition of bicultural learning in the prime focus, UK and the Indian government recently signed – a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a formal event. This legal agreement has been officially signed on 21st July 2022 between Prime Minister Boris Johnson (UK) & Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India) after analyzing the needs & wants of the higher education system available in both countries. This happened because both UK & India understand the importance of each other’s higher education system principles. It’s indeed termed to be a unique approach and was wholeheartedly accepted by the British universities too.
| Knowledge Hour: Basic 2030 roadmap for India-UK Future Relations was announced by the Prime Minister of both nations in May 2021. This also included the launch of ETP (Enhanced Trade Partnership) as during this a detailed “Free Trade Agreement” was also going to be negotiated by both the parties. |
Purpose of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Everything happens for a reason & so is this MoU between the UK-India government. According to the authentic sources, there were three crucial agreements which were signed between the UK-INDIA out of which one was an MoU. It was also asserted as the fundamental aspect of ETP (Enhanced Trade Partnership) on which both the parties , i.e, Prime Minister Boris Johnson (UK) & Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India) agreed last year. After this agreement was signed by both the parties then it eventually became very clear that all the A-level, their equivalents, all the undergraduate (UG) & postgraduate (PG) degrees taught in the UK universities will now be acceptable in all Indian universities and companies for study & job purposes. This accord is a welcome step to open up UK as a preferred study abroad destination for the Indian students who choose to study abroad for higher education & also wish to return to their country after a while to contribute to the professional growth of the country by aiding the initiatives of the government or starting their own entrepreneurial ventures or even continuing their studies further in their homeland.
In addition, it’s also stated that this agreement will make the doors of UK universities easily accessible for Indian students who would be motivated to move to the UK for pursuing their higher education. All the UK universities will also benefit from the exceptional qualities of Indian students and they find them more impressive and worthy in terms of facilities, education, sports, extracurricular activities etc .The change UK universities will go through will ultimately raise the international student population level at a desired pace in all the UK universities.
Apart from this, the MoU agreement holds a lot for the UK residents too as students from the UK will also be allowed to travel to India for pursuing their education in the field of their choice. This would also serve as a wonderful growing & learning opportunity for them as they learn about a new culture, education system, career prospects in another country thereby understanding the real essence of inclusion and diversity which is present at each level of the Indian diaspora.
Highlights of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
- Focuses to encourage the humongous population of the international student community towards the UK which sums to more than £1,00,000 of the UK economy
- After the enforcement of the MoU, the UK government is going to welcome a huge population of Indian students which is going to increase their economical revenue by £1,09,000
- The MoU agreement has provided full liberty to all the educational institutions from both countries to develop certain courses which can be delivered & are easily accessible by all the students residing in UK-INDIA
- Commitment renewal for a joint distinction of Seafarer’s “Certificate of Competency” respectively
- Implementation of serious commitments for creating alternative pathways for the business communities who export to India and vice versa under the ETP agreement
- An agreement was also signed between UK-INDIA for creating a workforce which would help aspiring Indian nurses in getting formal training from NHS (National Health Service), UK
Luminous Opinion on Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
| Barbara Wickham OBE, Director India {British Council} said that this agreement signed on the mutual recognition of higher education qualifications between UK-India is a moment to celebrate as this will tend to benefit loads of students from both the countries. She’s very happy for this agreement getting signed during the enduring India-UK Together Season of Culture Program which marks the celebration of India’s 75th anniversary whilst celebrating the strong partnership between the UK and India. Overall, this MoU will broaden the pathway for the graduate students, support massive collaborations between universities, and will also promote a joint education system for developing innovative research ideas for resolving global challenges. Overall, all of this tends to sound promising for the development of the education community. |
| Anne Marie Trevelyan {International Trade Secretary} said that in terms of studying abroad, UK already tops the student satisfaction rate. The significant reputation all the UK universities have is admirable due to which most international students from India tend to move to the UK for pursuing their higher education. With this agreement, both parties are willing to make sure that the UK education system looks remarkable and is easily accessible to international students who hail from India. |
| James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Education said that this treaty would remove the huge barrier spread between UK & India due to which the maximum population of talented students from India would be able to move abroad for pursuing their higher education at the university of their choice. This would also stimulate the UK economy & with a growing student population, the cultural habitat of the UK would be enriched at a broader level too. |
| About this agreement, Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief Executive, Universities UK International (UUK) also gave her opinion where she said that MoU was in the process of approval for many years and has been finally signed by both the parties. She also said that the education degree that peers will receive will be acknowledged in both countries and one can also apply for jobs anywhere in the UK-India which is a sigh of relief for students who hail to study abroad. This is truly spectacular as talented Indian students from UK universities will receive formal recognition worldwide and their degree will also be acceptable globally based on which they can apply for jobs in any public domain based in India. The huge amount of investment involved in this agreement also aims to support more than ½ million jobs globally for the students. In terms of trading, she stated that the current trading value between UK-India is worth £24bn which is a very profitable venture. From the beginning of 2017 the UK government has also paved the latest route to get into the Indian market which is said to unlock £92m of supplementary UK products such as oats, pork in the Indian market. With such major expansion India is planning to become the 3rd largest economy in the world by 2050. |
Final Words
With this, it’s a wrap and the entire blog points to one important aspect ,i.e, both the nations have agreed to this pact for the benefit of students. This agreement would act as a favorable track for the students who wish to pursue their higher education in the UK & then return to India to shape their future careers. In brief context, qualifications from both countries will be accepted globally and this way students will get to discover & explore multiple job opportunities. Above all, the best part of the MoU agreement is the generosity of acceptance by both the parties and the initiative taken forward to equalize the higher education qualification from both countries.