In order to promote national integration and check regionalism, the government proposes to keep a minimum 20 per cent seats in Central universities for students from states other than where these are located. It also wants 20 per cent of the faculty at each such university be recruited from other parts of the country.
The University Grants Commission plans incentives for universities which adopt these proposals and ensure diversity in both student and faculty populations.
The UGC proposal says these steps will benefit the states and promote student and faculty mobility across the country. “Recruitment of faculty should not be entirely from products of the same university; on the contrary, at least 20 per cent of the faculty should be from other states,” the proposal adds.
Also, in an effort to encourage universities to get international students to enrol, the UGC has also proposed the creation of an Office of International Relations and Foreign Student Facilitation Centres in each of them.
The universities may also be given funds to construct hostels to house international students; the only clause being there must be a minimum of 50 foreign students at each university. The aim is both to attract more students from other countries and improve facilities for international students already studying in India.