Foreign Education Providers Bill under Companies Act: For Profit or Corporate Social Responsibility?

Abstract

The initiative taken by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for removing the legislative deadlock over the Foreign Education Providers (FEPs) bill is going to involve changes in the recently passed Companies Act, 2013, and also a reframing of some of the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. This initiative has certain implications and possible future repercussions which have given rise to many questions regarding the objectives and functioning of India's higher education system. The way this bill has been posed, it seems poised to usher in a fresh bout of private and foreign education institutions with their positive and negative dimensions for higher education. This commentary aims to bring these and many other contradictory aspects of this bill under the ambit of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the UGC guidelines.