TSCHE's MoUs with foreign varsities fail to yield results

Hyderabad: The Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) entered into by the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) with the foreign universities and other educational entities for the last five-and-half-years have reportedly failed yield intended results.

According to TSCHE sources, the Council has been making efforts to rope in foreign universities and other public and private entities.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the TSCHE said the main objective of entering into MoUs is threefold.

First, to provide opportunities to the students offering twinning programmes by bringing the State and foreign universities together.

For example, as part of the twinning programme students can study part of their course in a State University and complete the course by studying at a foreign university for the remaining period of the course.

Secondly, the faculty exchanges to conduct collaborative research projects along with the faculty of a foreign university are also part of the MoUs.

This helps the faculty from a State Universities to acquire expertise by undergoing training at a foreign university in the subjects related to emerging technologies.

The third objective is to bring in global best practices to improve the quality and standards in the State higher education.

The main purpose of this component is to make the students from Telangana catch up with the global standards and to maximise opportunities for them in the global job markets.

However, sources pointed out that so far "the Council had entered into 15-and-odd MoUs with various universities and entities with the above objectives. However, the outcomes of these efforts by the TSCHE remained not fruitful."

There are several issues coming in the way of implementing these MoUs. For example, students will have to meet the expenses. There is no fee reimbursement support for the same from the State government.

Similarly, when a student is sent to a foreign university, the responsibility to ensure that such students complete their course rested on the State universities.

So, the university authorities have to remain alert until the student sent to the foreign university under the twinning programme returns safely to the State.

Adjusting to the foreign climate and environs at the foreign university, health insurance coverage and several other issues are making the State universities hesitate to take the MoUs forward.

It was against this backdrop that some of the State universities like Osmania, Kakatiay and others are more interested in the faculty exchange for collaborative research programmes with the foreign universities.

According to the officials from the OU and KU, faculty members from their universities gaining expertise and make value addition when they come back to teaching at their home university is more feasible for them.