International students will be able to start the admissions process for Indian institutions through the e-Vidyabharati portal of the Ministry of External Affairs thanks to changes made to the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Programs and Online Program guidelines by the UGC (MEA).
Even international students whose passports have expired may now enroll in Indian universities thanks to this legislation. Prior to this, international students had to compelably provide their passport information for identification, which frequently resulted in rejection or slowed down the admissions process. The admissions process may sometimes drag on for four months or longer, which was taxing for the international students.
Nageshwar Rao, vice chancellor of IGNOU, says in a statement to Education Times that overseas students are now able to enroll in an online program at any Indian university through MEA without having to provide a valid passport as required by the country's mandatory passport requirement.
With 26 overseas study centers in 15 countries, including one that just opened at Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), Guyana in the Caribbean Islands, India has a significant presence abroad. Under the Government of Guyana Scholarship Scheme, approximately 1,100 students have registered. 50 of our programs will be made available to 23 African countries as part of the MEA's e-Vidya Bharati project, for which registrations are currently open, says Rao. IGNOU currently has 2000 international students enrolled.
A more straightforward admissions process for international students will benefit Indian institutions since it will broaden the scope of intellectual absorption in our nation, according to Gurpreet Singh, director of the Institute of Distance & Online Learning at Chandigarh University.